An aide of Puducherry's Lieutenant Governor Iqbal Singh has rebutted reports of the Enforcement Directorate directing Mr. Singh to appear before the agency for interrogation in the Hasan Ali Khan case.
Officer on Special Duty at the Raj Nivas J.P. Singh said: “I spoke to the Lieutenant Governor, who is away in Delhi, on phone. Mr. Singh informed that he has not received summons from any investigating agencies.”
Pressed further to comment on reports suggesting Mr. Singh had a role in helping Mr. Khan obtain a passport, the OSD said a detailed response would be given by the Lieutenant Governor when he returns to Puducherry.
To a question whether he was denying the reports, he said Mr. Singh's son clarified that Amalendu Pandey, a senior Congress functionary from Bihar, had approached Mr. Iqbal Singh in 1997 seeking a passport for a “known person.”
During that period, Mr. Singh was a Rajya Sabha member and Mr. Pandey used to visit the AICC office. Mr. Pandey approached Mr. Singh for the passport to the person.
The OSD said Mr. Singh forwarded the application to the then External Affairs Minister, I.K. Gujral, without knowing that the passport was for Mr. Khan.
When it was pointed out that the application normally includes the name of the candidate, the OSD said it did not contain the name. “It was Mr. Gujral who had sent the application to the Regional Passport Office in Patna.”
On the Lieutenant Governor's sudden visit to New Delhi, he said it was official and had nothing to do with the investigation.
