In a significant development, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Amanatullah Khan early Monday morning, connecting him to a money laundering investigation. Khan, representing the Okhla constituency, is slated for a court appearance at Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court later today.
The arrest followed an early morning raid at Khan’s residence by ED officials. The MLA took to social media at 6:30 AM, announcing, “An ED team has reached my house to arrest me.” The case hinges on two separate FIRs lodged against him: one by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) related to alleged irregularities in Waqf Board appointments and another by the Delhi Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) concerning disproportionate assets.
Before his arrest, Khan posted a video online at 7:43 AM, asserting, “An 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 ago. She is also at my home. I had informed the ED about this. They have been harassing me for two years, slapping false cases. They are harassing our party (AAP). Their objective is to break our party. I appeal to the people of Okhla to pray for me and I promise that we will get all your work done. Don’t worry, we will not get scared.”
In another distressing scene captured on video, Khan questioned the officials at his doorstep while his ailing mother-in-law lay in the background. He asked, “Why else are you here?” following their refusal to disclose the purpose of their visit. His wife interjected, warning of legal action if her mother’s condition worsened due to the raid.
Senior AAP leaders have rallied in Khan’s defense, decrying the ED’s actions as politically motivated. Manish Sisodia, a prominent AAP leader, criticized the central government, saying, “This is the only job left for ED. Suppress every voice raised against BJP. Break it. Arrest and put in jail those who do not break or get suppressed.”
AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh also condemned the timing and nature of the raid, highlighting the health condition of Khan’s mother-in-law and his compliance with the investigation. “See the cruelty of ED. Amanatullah Khan joined the ED investigation and asked for time as his mother-in-law has cancer and she has undergone an operation, but ED reached his house early in the morning. There is no evidence against Amanatullah Khan but Modi’s dictatorship and ED’s hooliganism continue.”
