NEW DELHI: Enforcement Directorate on Saturday attached a plot in Panchkula belonging to Associated Journals Ltd, now owned by Young Indian in which Congress president Rahul Gandhi, his mother Sonia and sister Priyanka are stakeholders.The ED is investigating money laundering charges against senior Congress leaders, including party’s former treasurer Motilal Vora and former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda , in the AJL land allotment case.Hooda became the CM of Haryana on March 5, 2005. Two days later, Motilal Vora moved an application on behalf of the AJL to re-allot the plot. Process of allotment began immediately and the plot was re-allotted despite the fact that the Estate department objected as fresh bids had to be called after cancellation.“Since, the value of plot fraudulently allotted to AJL has represented proceeds of crime, the ED has attached the plot under PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) through a provisional attachment order of December 1,” the agency claimed.The agency, in its attachment order, has said that AJL had acquired loans from a bank by way of mortgaging the property in question from time to time knowing that the allotment was illegal.“Bhupinder Singh Hooda, the then CM of Haryana misused his official position by dishonestly and fraudulently allotting the said plot in 2005 to the AJL, afresh in the guise of re-allotment, at the rates prevalent in 1982 plus interest,” ED has claimed.On Saturday, the CBI, too, had filed a chargesheet in the AJL case against Hooda and Vora accusing them of illegal allotment. The ED’s money laundering investigation began in 2016 when it registered a case under PMLA based on a CBI FIR of 2005.The plot in question in Sector 6 of Panchkula was allotted to the AJL in 1982 to start ‘Nav-Jivan’ newspaper. However, on failure of the AJL to start the operations of the newspaper and complete the construction on the plot, the Haryana’s estate department cancelled the allotment in 1992. An appeal against the cancellation order was also dismissed in 1995.The agency said the re-allotment was illegal as the cancellation of allotment of the plot to AJL earlier had already attained finality and it could not legally be re-allotted. “Allotment of the said plot to AJL in 2005 at the rate prevailing in 1982 unjustly benefitted AJL,” ED said.“Further, B S Hooda granted undue extensions thrice to AJL for construction on the said plot. The AJL, after acquisition of the said plot projected it as untainted property and acquired loans from the bank by way of mortgaging the same from time to time,” it said.