ED questions Markfed head in 13-year-old case

JALANDHAR/PHAGWARA: Enforcement Directorate (ED) has reopened a 13-year-old case under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) against Markfed chairman and Phagwara sugar mill co-owner Jarnail Singh Wahid pertaining to investments in the factory in 2000. He was questioned for around three hours by the ED officials. A close confidant of Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, Wahid is also president of SAD's Kapurthala district unit.
When contacted, Wahid said he had earlier submitted all documents asked by the ED in 2002 and 2003, but he heard nothing from the agency over the years. He said, "I was issued a notice recently to appear in the case."
Wahid was questioned by ED assistant director Manoj Sharma for around three hours during which he also gave his income tax (I-T) returns and bank statements of his family members. Sources said Wahid had been asked to appear again on February 26 and also to produce his passport.
Sources said he was also questioned about his partner in the sugar mill, Sukhbir Singh Sandhar, an NRI. ED had called Wahid as the managing director of the Wahid Sandhar Sugar Millls to probe investments into the plant.
Meanwhile, sources in SAD said it was astonishing that Wahid had been summoned in an old case after a long time. However they refrained from making any political interpretation of the matter.