Aam Aadmi Party – AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan claimed on Monday that Enforcement Directorate- ED officials had reached his house in Okhla, Delhi, to arrest him.
X hours later, Khan tweeted: “ED people have just arrived at my house to arrest me.” In a self-made video, he further explained that the ED has been continuously harassing him for two years. All this harassment, Khan argued, was because the ED wanted to weaken his party and himself.
“It is seven in the morning, and the ED has come to arrest me on the pretext of a search warrant,” Khan said. “My mother-in-law, who is suffering from cancer, is presently at my home. I have replied to each of their notices and spoken to them. Yet, they kept harassing me. Their whole aim is to break our party. We will not budge an inch nor surrender.”
Khan expressed confidence that justice would prevail as it did previously in court. He termed the case against him as “completely false.”
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh also took to X to extend support to Khan. Singh attacked the ED’s move, saying, “Look at the cruelty of ED. Amanatullah Khan was cooperating with the investigation and he asked for more time. His mother-in-law has cancer and underwent surgery. Yet, ED thought it fit to conduct a raid at his house in the dead of night. There is no case against Khan, but the dictatorship of Modi and high-handedness of ED continue unabated.”
Earlier this year, in April, Rouse Avenue Court granted bail to Khan in a complaint filed by the Enforcement Directorate. The said complaint had accused him of non-appearance before summons in connection with the Delhi Waqf Board money laundering case.
ED had recently filed a complaint against Amantullah Khan accusing him of non-appearance before the agency and not cooperating in the probe related to irregularities in the management of the Delhi Waqf Board and its renting of properties. The agency said Khan turned his status from a witness to an accused by filing anticipatory bail and evading investigation. According to ED counsel, the investigation against Khan could not be completed as he did not make himself available for questioning.
A charge sheet has been filed against four individuals and one company. The document accuses them of illegally leasing out Waqf properties valued at Rs 100 crore. Additionally, it alleges that Khan appointed 32 contractual employees to the Delhi Waqf Board during his tenure as chairman, violating established rules.
The unending allegations and court crossfires also raised the political heat and public outcry. As Khan and his supporters claimed that the move was a kind of high-handed and arbitrary action, the ED continued its probe into the alleged irregularities and misdeeds related to the Delhi Waqf Board.
This case has brought into light the fight between political leaders and investigating authorities, besides making the legal. And political processes involved in this case dubious for their openness and equity. Both Khan and his rivals are awaiting further developments in this high-profile case and the court decisions.
ANI
