Less than a month after arresting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal within the liquor coverage case, the Enforcement Directorate has taken an AAP MLA, Amanatullah Khan, into custody in reference to alleged irregularities within the Delhi Waqf Board, the occasion has claimed.
Delhi Minister Atishi and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh are on the home of the Okhla MLA and the Delhi unit of the occasion has posted on X that Mr Khan’s alleged arrest is one other chapter within the “BJP’s failed attempts to finish off the Aam Aadmi Party”.
Mr Khan was the chairman of the Waqf Board between 2018 and 2022 and the Enforcement Directorate, which is investigating a cash laundering angle, has alleged that the MLA acquired “huge proceeds of crime” in money by way of unlawful recruitment of workers within the Board, which manages Waqf properties.
The ED has claimed he invested the cash to buy property within the identify of his associates.
On Monday, the Supreme Court had refused to grant anticipatory bail to the AAP MLA within the case and requested him to hitch the investigation as we speak. The bench had, nonetheless, cautioned the ED in opposition to “unnecessarily exercising” its proper to arrest beneath the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
“You arrest him in case there is material. In case, there is no material, do not arrest him. You have to follow Section 19 of the PMLA. Right to arrest should not be taken for granted,” the bench had stated.
The ED had registered the cash laundering case in opposition to Mr Khan primarily based on a primary data report registered by the CBI and three Delhi Police complaints. It had been questioning the MLA at its Delhi workplace since this morning.
In a message posted on X, the MLA stated in Hindi that central businesses have been after him and have troubled him for over a 12 months and a half. “Their attempt has been to get me to resign. They want me to leave Arvind Kejriwal and testify against him. Because I haven’t done that, they have arrested me. I want to assure the people of Okhla that, despite my arrest, we will continue to work for the area like we have so far.”
“It doesn’t matter how long they keep me in jail or torture me, I will not bend. I was with Arvind Kejriwal and will remain with him. During my tenure at the Waqf Board, I helped everybody affected by the Delhi riots (2020), irrespective of their religion,” he added.
(With inputs from businesses)