‘ED At My Home To Arrest Me’: AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan

In a video shared on his X handle, Khan asserted that he has been responding to all notices from the federal agency. However, a team is at his residence with a search warrant to apprehend him

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Amanatullah Khan alleged that Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials arrived at his Okhla residence in Delhi early Monday morning to arrest him.

In a video shared on his X handle, Khan asserted that he has been responding to all notices from the federal agency. However, a team is at his house with a search warrant to apprehend him.

The AAP leader claimed that the action was taken “at the behest of the dictator” and described the ED’s move as part of a broader campaign of harassment against him and other AAP leaders.

“Just now early in the morning, at the behest of the dictator, his puppet ED has reached my house, the dictator is leaving no stone unturned in harassing me and AAP leaders,” he said in a post on X, which was accompanied by the video.

अभी सुबह-सुबह तानाशाह के इशारे पर उनकी कटपुतली ED मेरे घर पर पहुँच चुकी है, मुझे और AAP नेताओं को परेशान करने में तानाशाह कोई कसर नहीं छोड़ रहा।ईमानदारी से अवाम की ख़िदमत करना गुनाह है?

आख़िर ये तानाशाही कब तक?#EDRaid#Okhlapic.twitter.com/iR2YN7Z9NL

— Amanatullah Khan AAP (@KhanAmanatullah) September 2, 2024

Khan further expressed frustration and questioned: “Is it a crime to serve the people honestly? How long will this dictatorship last?”

Teams from the Delhi Police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have been deployed at Khan’s residence.

#WATCH | Delhi: Visuals from outside the residence of Aam Aadmi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan.He claimed that ED officials have arrived at his residence to arrest him. pic.twitter.com/T4oFDByZQy

— ANI (@ANI) September 2, 2024

Several AAP leaders, including Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, slammed the BJP-led central government, alleging that central agencies are targeting those who speak out against the ruling party.

ED’s work is to ‘suppress’ voices: Manish Sisodia

Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia questioned whether the ED’s role is only to suppress every voice raised against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

“This is the only work left for ED. Suppress every voice raised against BJP. Break it. Arrest and put in jail those who do not break or get suppressed,” Sisodia noted in his post.

‘ED’s hooliganism continue’: Sanjay Singh

Sanjay Singh shared a video on X showing Khan arguing with ED officials, questioning their reason for being at his house. Khan also asked, “If you’re not here to arrest me, then why are you here?.”

ED की निर्दयता देखिये @KhanAmanatullah पहले ED की जाँच में शामिल हुए उनसे आगे के लिए समय माँगा, उनकी Mother In Law को कैंसर है उनका ऑपरेशन हुआ है घर में सुबह सुबह धावा बोलने पहुँच गये।@KhanAmanatullah के ख़िलाफ़ कोई सबूत नहीं है लेकिन मोदी की तानाशाही और ED की गुंडागर्दी दोनों… pic.twitter.com/GyhduaghJB— Sanjay Singh AAP (@SanjayAzadSln) September 2, 2024

In his post, Singh condemned the ED’s “cruelty” and claimed there is no evidence against Khan.

“Look at the cruelty of ED @KhanAmanatullah first he joined the ED investigation, then asked for time for further time, his mother in law has cancer, she has undergone an operation, they reached the house early in the morning to raid. There is no evidence against @KhanAmanatullah but both Modi’s dictatorship and ED’s hooliganism continue,” Singh wrote.

What is the case against Amanatullah Khan?

Khan, AAP MLA from the Okhla constituency in South East Delhi, is under investigation in connection with a money laundering case linked to his tenure as chairman of the Delhi Waqf Board.

The case against Khan originates from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR. The ED initiated its probe based on this CBI case registered in 2016, which accuses Khan of illegally appointing individuals to non-sanctioned and non-existent vacancies at the Delhi Waqf Board, causing financial loss to the Delhi government and illegal gains to himself.

The ED had claimed that Khan acquired “huge proceeds of crime” in cash through this illegal recruitment and used the funds to purchase immovable assets in the names of his associates.

Matter of ‘great shame’ for Centre: Saurabh Bharadwaj

Meanwhile, Saurabh Bharadwaj stated that it is a “matter of great shame for the central government” that, despite investigations by all the probe agencies, no evidence of money transactions has been found.

“The central government wants all the government departments in Delhi to remain vacant… The whole country is seeing how the agencies are being misused and as the elections come closer, these people will increase this kind of pressure even more,” Bharadwaj told news agency ANI.

(With inputs from agencies)