ED Grills Former Union Minister Salman Khursheed’s Wife Louise, Is Accused Of Embezzling Govt Subsidy For Disabled

Lucknow, February 16 (TNA) Louise Khurshid, wife of senior Congress leader and former union minister Salman Khurshid, was interrogated by the ED on Thursday. She is accused of embezzling the subsidy provided by the Central Government for distributing artificial limbs and equipment to the disabled.

After appearing at the ED zonal office in the capital at around noon, her interrogation continued till 6 pm. In the year 2009-10, the Central Government provided a subsidy of about Rs 71 lakh to Dr Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust, run by her, for distributing artificial limbs and equipment to the disabled by organizing camps in 17 districts. In this, a case was registered in 17 districts including Bareilly, Bulandshahr, and Shahjahanpur for fraud, in which the Trust's project director Louise Khurshid and secretary Mohammad Athar Farooqui were named.

Investigation revealed that in many districts the subsidy amount was embezzled by forging the seal and signature of the District Disabled Welfare Officer to verify the distribution of artificial limbs and equipment.

After which, based on the cases registered in the concerned 17 districts, ED started the investigation by registering a case of money laundering against Dr Zakir Hussain Memorial Trust, Khurshid and other officials. When solid evidence was found against her in the investigation, she was summoned for questioning on Thursday. She might also be called on Friday for questioning and recording his statement.