With the investigation into Uttar Pradesh's Riverfront scam gaining momentum, the Enforcement Directorate has issued a notice to 16 people, including Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (Lohia) president Shivpal Singh Yadav.

According to highly placed sources, notices have also been issued to former chief secretary Alok Ranjan and former principal secretary (irrigation) Deepak Singhal.

Eyebrows have been raised over the timing of issuing notice to Shivpal Yadav after he campaigned for Samajwadi Party in Mainpuri bypoll. During the campaign he criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party. He even said that the BJP was sabotaging the Lok Sabha bypoll and was using drones to monitor activities inside SP workers’ houses.

Earlier, the BJP and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had gone soft on Shivpal Yadav after the tussle between Akhilesh Yadav and Shivpal Singh Yadav came to light. Shivpal also met Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and after that he got a palatial government bungalow, which he converted into his party’s office.

Shivpal Yadav's Z security was first withdrawn during the Mainpuri by-election. On the very next day, the Yogi government gave approval for a CBI probe against officers involved in the Riverfront scam.

The Central Bureau of Investigation is investigating the Rs 1,500-crore Gomti Riverfront scam. The project involved the construction of a rubber dam to maintain its water level, a stadium, an amphitheatre for 2,000 people, cycle and jogging tracks, a play area for children and a musical fountain.

The ED had also filed a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in March 2018 in connection with corruption in the Gomti Riverfront development project.