Received EoW summon only in morning, not a flight risk: Ashneer Grover

BharatPe co-founder and managing director Ashneer Grover on Friday said that he received the summon from the Delhi Police Economic Offences' Wing (EOW) on Friday morning.

By IANS On Nov 17, 2023 0

Ashneer Grover over EoW summon — Photo Credit: IANS

New Delhi: BharatPe co-founder and managing director Ashneer Grover on Friday said that he received the summon from the Delhi Police Economic Offences’ Wing (EOW) on Friday morning and he will follow the process to remove the Lookout Circular (LoC) against him as he is not a “flight risk”.

Explaining the chain of events till he was stopped from boarding a flight to New York from the New Delhi International Airport late on Thursday, Grover said that he planned to visit the US from November 16-23.

“At immigration, they said LoC laga hua hai sir – EOW se check kar ke batate hai (there is an LoC against you and let us check with the EOW),” he posted on X.

“I found it strange as I have travelled four times internationally since FIR filed in May, never been a problem and I had not even been summoned once. Flight left in meantime anyways,” Grover further said.

According to him, EOW directed immigration “to let us out so that we can return home.”

“Today morning, the EOW summon was delivered home. Will cooperate as always. LoC hatane ka process hai (There is a process to remove LoC). I am not a flight risk, easy to prove hai,” he posted.

Earlier, Ashneer Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain Grover were stopped at the Delhi International Airport under the authority of a Lookout Circular (LoC) issued against them.

Confirming the news, the Joint Commissioner of Police (EOW), Sindhu Pillai said they were stopped at the airport on Thursday night on the LoC issued by EOW while refusing to share more details due to the ongoing probe.

The nature of the probe or the specific allegations against Grover and Jain remains undisclosed as of now.

Recently, the Delhi Police had submitted a status report in High Court in which it had alleged financial irregularities in BharatPe’s operations by co-founder Ashneer and his family members and implication in questionable practices, including the use of backdated invoices to channel funds.

Eight HR consulting firms associated with Ashneer’s family, such as True Work Co., Team Source, and Impulse Marketing, filed bills with closed bank accounts, indicating the potential fabrication of invoices, as per the report.

The reports stated that these seemingly distinct entities shared the same registered address, sparking concerns about their legitimacy and independence, possibly hinting at a conflict of interest.

“The use of backdated invoices not only raises issues of financial impropriety but also questions the transparency and accountability of BharatPe’s financial operations,” stated the report.

Meanwhile, Ashneer posted: “Jatt mareya tad maniye jad terami howe (Don’t pronounce me dead till 13 days after you’ve burned me at the pyre).”