Delhi: Aam Admi Party leader and Member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly, Amanatullah Khan, was arrested by Enforcement Directorate officials on Monday after searches were conducted at his residence near Okhla in connection with a money laundering case.
The case relates to alleged irregularities in appointments in the Delhi Waqf Board and leasing of its properties.
According to a report by PTI, the money laundering case against the 50-year-old AAP leader stems from two FIRs. One is by the CBI in the Wakf Board related to alleged irregularities, and another is by the Delhi ACB related to an alleged case of possession of disproportionate assets.
Sources said that Amanatullah Khan has evaded at least ten ED summons since his last questioning in connection with the case in April 2024.
Khan and the Aam Admi Party first broke the news after the leader posted at 6:29 AM on his X handle that an ED team had reached his house in the Okhla area to arrest him.
In a video statement, Amanatullah Khan said that the ED raided his residence despite him informing the probing agency that his ailing mother-in-law was also present at his home.
“The ED team has come to arrest me on the pretext of a search. My mother-in-law is a cancer patient; she was operated on four days back. She is also at my home. I had informed this (to the ED),” Amanatullah Khan said.
AAP leaders Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia also posted about Amanatullah Khan's arrest. On X, AAP leader Manish Sisodia said the only work left for the ED is to “suppress every voice raised against the BJP and break it”.Those who do not break are arrested and put in jail, he alleged.
The Waqf (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which provides for renaming the Waqf Act, 1995, as the Unified Waqf Management, Empowerment, Efficiency and Development Act, 1995, has been sent to the Joint Parliament Committee (JPC) for scrutiny amid protests by opposition parties.
