SHIMLA: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet against Congress MLA Vikramaditya Singh in a Delhi court in the money laundering case in which his parents Himchal Pradesh ex-CM Virbhadra Singh and Pratibha Singh are already and accused. The ED had filed chargesheet against Virbhadra and his wife Pratibha the same case in in February.Special court judge Arvind Kumar has fixed the next hearing for July 24. He will decide on whether to take cognisance of the final report.The chargesheet, filed by special public prosecutors Nitesh Rana and N K Matta, also named Tarani Infrastructure MD Vakamulla Chandrasekhar and one Ram Prakash Bhatia as an accused. Both Chandrasekhar and Bhatia are also an accused in a CBI case related to the matter, along with Virbhadra Singh, his wife Pratibha Singh and others.Universal Apple Associate owner Chunni Lal Chauhan, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) agent Anand Chauhan, and Prem Raj and Lawan Kumar Roach were also named in the chargesheet that ED had submitted in the court earlier.Anand Chauhan, arrested on July 9, 2016, by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, was granted bail on January 2, 2017 in the case.In a separate case filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in relation to the matter, the former Himachal Pradesh chief minister, his wife and Chauhan were charge-sheeted along with others.Virbhadra and his wife have not been arrested so far in any of the two cases, and the other accused are facing trial in the CBI case. The probe agency had claimed that Virbhadra Singh had amassed assets worth around Rs 10 crore, which were disproportionate to his total income during his tenure as a Union minister.The matter was transferred by the Supreme Court to the Delhi high court which, on April 6, 2016, asked the CBI not to arrest Virbhadra and directed him to join the probe.On November 5 last year, the apex court transferred former CM’s plea from the Himachal Pradesh high court to the Delhi high court, saying it was not expressing any opinion on the merits of the case, but “simply” transferring the petition “in the interest of justice and to save the institution (judiciary) from any embarrassment”.ED under political pressure: VikarmadityaMeanwhile, Vikramaditya Singh has termed the ED action as politically motivated and a step taken under political pressure.In a statement, Vikramaditya Singh who is first time MLA from Shimla (Rural) assembly constituency said that BJP government at Centre was misusing the Central investigating agencies to unsuccessfully attempt to threaten political opponents.“I have full faith in the judicial system of country an truth will prevail,” he said.He added that BJP leaders were misusing the Central investigating agencies for their political gains. The way the ED, CBI, income tax and the vigilance departments were raiding the Congress leaders itself shows that BJP government was working with vendetta.“Real face of BJP has been exposed before the people of country and in coming parliamentary elections, BJP will bite dust,” he added.Vikramaditya Singh said that he would not be cowed down such tactics of Centre. He said that false and fabricated cases framed against him and his family members are under consideration of courts and he has full faith in the judiciary.

Stay updated with all the Latest Shimla headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.