Three-member ED team questioning Rahul Gandhi

New Delhi, June 13 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has begun questioning Rahul Gandhi at its office in the national capital on Monday, officials said.

According to the official, three senior officials of the ED are currently questioning the Congress leader.

"The team consists of two Assistant Directors and one Deputy Director," said the official.

Earlier, Rahul Gandhi reached the ED office located at Paryavaran Bhawan on Dr APJ Abdul Kalam Road amidst heavy police force that was deployed to refrain party workers from taking a proposed march.

On the way, Rahul was accompanied by his sister Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, however, she left minutes after they reached the ED office.

The ED had summoned Rahul Gandhi and party chief Sonia Gandhi in connection with the National Herald case for allegedly misappropriating funds.

Sonia Gandhi will appear before the financial probe agency on June 23.

But what is the National Herald case?

The genesis of the controversy started with the acquisition of shares of Associated Journals Limited (AJL) on January 26, 2011.

The AJL was incorporated as a public limited company on November 20, 1937 under the Indian Companies Act, 1913, for the purpose of publication of newspapers in different languages. AJL started publishing newspapers such as National Herald in English, Navjivan in Hindi and Quami Awaz in Urdu.

The publication was suspended on various occasions due to financial difficulties and certain labour problems.

On April 2, 2008, the newspaper was closed.

The properties were allotted for carrying out newspaper business and publication of newspapers in different languages. However, it was also allowed to let out these properties on rent to cater to its publication business post-closure of the newspaper.

The office of AJL was shifted from Lucknow to Delhi on September 1, 2010 at its Delhi property situated at 5A, Herald House, Bahadurshah Zafar Marg, New Delhi.

In this chain of events, the All India Congress Committee (AICC), an apex body of the Indian National Congress, had advanced loans to AJL from time to time.

In other words, the AICC assigned the loan outstanding in the books of AJL at Rs 50,00,000 to Young Indian.

Further, almost 99.99 per cent shares of AJL were transferred to Young Indian.

On December 13, 2010, in the first Managing Committee meeting of Young Indian, Rahul Gandhi was appointed as director.

In a nutshell, the National Herald case pertains to the assignment of a Rs 90 crore loan advanced by the Congress party to Young Indian for a consideration of Rs 50 lakhs.

It has been alleged that there was a misappropriation of assets of over Rs 2,000 crore.