The Enforcement Directorate detained Aam Aadmi Party MLA Amanatullah Khan on Monday after conducting a raid at his residence. The investigation relates to alleged irregularities in Waqf properties, with Khan serving as the Chairman of the Delhi Waqf Board.
As ED officials escorted Khan from his home, he declared to his supporters, “I am innocent.”
Earlier in the day, Khan’s cousin, Minnatullah Khan, stated that despite investigations by the Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Central Bureau of Investigation, no evidence had been found against him. He mentioned, “His mother-in-law has recently undergone surgery for cancer. Despite investigations by the ACB and CBI, nothing has been found yet… Now the ED is investigating.”
In a self-recorded video, Khan claimed that he has been subjected to continuous harassment by the ED for the past two years. He said, “It is seven in the morning, and the ED has come to arrest me in the name of a search warrant. My mother-in-law has cancer and is currently at my home. I have written to them and responded to all their notices. These people have been harassing me continuously for the last two years. Their only aim is to break our party. We are not going to bow down, and we are not going to break.”
AAP MP Sanjay Singh accused the ED of acting with malice against Khan, despite repeated reprimands from the Supreme Court. Delhi Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj suggested that the central government is increasing pressure on AAP as the Delhi Assembly elections approach. He remarked, “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.”
Earlier this year, the Rouse Avenue Court granted bail to Khan in connection with the ED’s complaint against him for allegedly avoiding summons in the Delhi Waqf Board money laundering case. The ED claimed that Khan had escalated his role from witness to accused by seeking anticipatory bail and evading the investigation.
The ED’s lawyer argued that they could not conclude the probe against him because he did not appear before the agency.
A charge sheet has already been filed against four accused individuals and one firm, alleging that Rs 100 crore worth of Waqf properties were illegally leased. It is also claimed that 32 contractual employees were appointed to the Delhi Waqf Board during Khan’s tenure as chairman, in violation of the rules.
