The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Amanatullah Khan on Monday, September 2, following a raid at his residence in in Delhi today in money laundering case related to financial irregularities in the Delhi Waqf Board.
The ED's visit, part of an ongoing investigation, resulted in Khan's detention, escalating tensions within the AAP. Details of the probe remain unclear, but the development has sparked political reactions, with party leaders calling the move politically motivated.
The central probe agency raided the AAP MLA's residence in the early hours of Monday, after which the AAP MLA claimed that the officials had come to "arrest" him. He also released a video claiming that the ED reached his residence and said that the only motive of the central agency is to arrest him and stop the work done by the Delhi government. He claimed that probe agency had filed fake cases against him.
"It is 7 AM right now. ED has come to my residence to arrest me in the name of a search warrant. My mother-in-law has been diagnosed with cancer. She had an operation four days ago. She is also at my house. I have written to them (ED) and I have replied to every notice. Their only motive is to arrest me and stop our work. For the last two years, these people have been harassing me, and filing fake cases against me. Every day, they are creating some or the other problem for not only me but my entire party...We are neither going to bow down to them nor are we going to be afraid of them, they will send us to jail. I am hopeful that the way we got justice in the court earlier, this time too we will get justice," Khan said in a video message.
"It is well-known that Amanatullah Khan has made illegal appointments in Waqf Board and has been involved in corruption scandals. Now, if the investigating agency wants to question him, he should cooperate with them," said Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva.
BJP leader Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, "Some people consider themselves above law, and we often see such habitual offenders from time to time."