Dehradun, Sept. 27 -- Former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat appeared before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Dehradun on Saturday after being summoned by the agency in connection with alleged irregularities in the 2016 Gram Panchayat Vikas Adhikari (VPDO) recruitment examination conducted by the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UKSSSC). A close aide of Rawat said ED had sent him a notice two days earlier seeking documents related to his properties, bank accounts and residence. Rawat, in a Facebook post, said he had reached the ED office "with the blessings of mother". "Remembering my mother, Mother Jagadamba and Mother Earth, I have reached the ED office today with the blessings of Mother. I have not called anyone and I have not even told anyone. I have come alone with my mother." he said The development comes days after ED's Dehradun sub-zonal office conducted searches on September 10 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the 2016 UKSSSC VPDO examination case. The agency said the searches were conducted at multiple locations in Dehradun, including the residence of Chandan Singh Jeena, Rawat's personal assistant. According to ED, the money-laundering investigation stems from an FIR registered at the Vigilance police station in Dehradun and three subsequent FIRs related to recruitment irregularities. At Jeena's residence, ED said it recovered Rs.32 lakh in unaccounted cash, 200.5 grams of gold comprising 13 gold coins and seven gold chains, and 12 luxury wristwatches. The watches included brands such as Rolex, Rado, Piaget, Movado, Tissot and Casio Edifice. The agency also froze bank accounts belonging to Jeena and his family members, with aggregate credit balances of Rs.52.16 lakh, and seized mobile phones for forensic examination. ED said the total value of assets seized and frozen directly at Jeena's residence was estimated at Rs.1.28 crore. The agency had maintained that its investigation was continuing and that further arrests or attachment of assets could not be ruled out. On large quantity of cash, jewellery and other items had been seized from his former aide in Dehradun, Harish Rawat on September 12 had said the facts would emerge in due course. He acknowledged that Jeena had served as his officer on special duty (OSD) and had handled significant responsibilities during the various positions Rawat held in the party and government. Rawat described Jeena as an "extremely decent, humble and hardworking individual" but said that if there had been any tampering with OMR sheets during the recruitment of Gram Sevaks, or if Jeena had committed any such wrongdoing and there was evidence to establish it, he would be ashamed of the alleged act. He, however, said he did not believe the allegation. Rawat said irregularities in appointments and examinations amounted to playing with the future of the next generation. If he had knowingly or unknowingly committed any act that adversely affected the future of Uttarakhand's youth, he said he considered himself deserving of censure and apologised to the people of the state. He had also made a public appeal for anyone possessing evidence of his involvement or interference in such appointments to hand it over to the CBI, Enforcement Directorate or state police. Meanwhile BJP state president and Rajya Sabha MP Mahendra Bhatt criticised Harish Rawat for carrying a photograph of his late mother while appearing before the Enforcement Directorate (ED), calling it "extremely unfortunate" and "the height of moral degradation". Bhatt said, "Using a deceased mother in 'political drama' is unacceptable". He questioned why Rawat was afraid of facing the investigation if he had done nothing wrong....