Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Amanatullah Khan was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday in connection with alleged irregularities in appointments to the Delhi Waqf Board and the leasing of its properties, estimated to be worth ₹100 crore.
The arrest came after a dramatic raid at Khan’s residence in Delhi earlier in the day. In a video statement shared on social media, Khan accused the ED of acting insensitively, stating that the raid had caused distress to his mother-in-law, a cancer patient who had recently undergone surgery.
“The ED has come to arrest me under the guise of a search. My mother-in-law, who is recovering from cancer surgery, is at home. I informed the ED of this situation,” Khan said.
Scenes from the Raid
Footage from the raid showed an elderly woman lying on a bed as Khan spoke to an ED officer, asking for a four-week reprieve. The officer responded, “Why do you think we are here to arrest you?” to which Khan retorted, “Why else are you here?”
A woman, presumed to be Khan’s wife, voiced her frustration, questioning why the ED needed to search their modest three-room home repeatedly. She warned the officers that she would take legal action if anything happened to her mother, who was too frail to stand.
Khan dismissed the allegations against him, claiming that the ED had been “harassing me for two years with false cases and unnecessary trouble.” He accused the agency of targeting AAP to undermine the party. “They want to break our party, but we will not be intimidated,” said Khan, who represents the Okhla constituency in Delhi.
AAP’s Response
Following Khan’s arrest, AAP leaders rallied in his support. Khan posted a defiant message on social media, declaring, “Revolutionaries will not bow down to the tyranny of a dictator,” accusing the ED of acting on a “fake case.”
Khan’s arrest marks the fourth high-profile AAP leader detained by central agencies since the arrest of former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia last year. Other leaders arrested include Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, all in connection with various alleged scams.
Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia have since been granted bail. In Sisodia’s case, the Supreme Court criticized his prolonged detention, labeling it a “travesty of justice.” However, Kejriwal remains in jail, fighting a second bail battle following a last-minute arrest by the CBI.
Both Singh and Sisodia have publicly criticized the ED, accusing the agency of conducting investigations with malicious intent, despite repeated warnings from the Supreme Court.
“The ED reached Amanatullah Khan’s residence early this morning to conduct a raid, knowing that his mother-in-law has cancer and recently underwent surgery,” Sanjay Singh said, condemning the agency’s actions in what he described as a six-year-old case.
The allegations against Khan stem from a 2016 case filed by the CBI regarding irregularities in the Delhi Waqf Board. After an extensive investigation, the CBI did not arrest Khan, but the ED has continued to pursue the case. In April, Khan was granted bail by Delhi’s Rouse Avenue Court for alleged non-compliance with ED summons in the Waqf Board money laundering case.
Manish Sisodia echoed the sentiment of many AAP leaders, accusing the ruling BJP of using federal agencies to suppress opposition voices, particularly in the lead-up to elections. “This is the only job left for the ED—to silence every voice against the BJP and imprison those who refuse to submit,” Sisodia remarked. Delhi Health Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj also linked the ED’s actions against Khan to the upcoming Assembly election in the city early next year.
