Gokhale case gets new twist as ED quizzes Rahul aide | India News

NEW DELHI: Investigation against arrested TMC functionary Saket Gokhaletook a significant turn with the EDquestioning Alankar Sawai, a close aide of Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, who is associated with Congress researchteam.
Sawai has been questioned multiple times over the last week in Ahmedabad for allegedly funding Gokhale to run a social media campaign against PM Modi. The Gandhi aide’s money transactions were established by the agency when it found substantial cash deposits in Gokhale’s bankaccounts.
Interestingly, Gokhale, during his questioning, named Sawai as the source of some of these cashdeposits.
Gokhale was arrested by the Gujarat Police for spreading fake news when he claimed that PM Modi’s visit to Morbi had cost Rs 30 crore, quoting a news item based on alleged fake RTI information. He was granted bail in that case but later arrested again for misusing funds collected through crowdfunding.

In its remand note after the arrest of Gokhale in Ahmedabad last month, the ED had claimed that the TMC functionary, in his statement recorded with the agency, has said that Rs 23. 5 lakh cash deposited in his bank accounts was “given to him by Alankar Sawai of Congress for social media work and otherconsultancy”.
Sources said Sawai was in denial of having funded Gokhale when the Congress functionary was questioned about the purpose of funding a rival partyman. Last week Sawai was confronted with Gokhale on the nature of thesetransactions. The ED has arrested Gokhale for alleged laundering of money collected through crowdfunding. He is also accused of acquiring personal assets from the funds raised from people for running his RTI campaign.