Delhi’s political local weather has as soon as once more intensified following the arrest of AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan. This growth got here after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan on Monday morning after conducting a raid at his residence. The raids have been a part of an investigation into alleged irregularities in regards to the recruitment course of for the Delhi Waqf Board. The ED staff, supported by Delhi Police and CRPF personnel, carried out the search. Early within the morning, Khan took to social media, posting a video on X to replace the general public concerning the raid.
Sources recommend that this operation is an element of a bigger probe into cash laundering associated to the alleged irregularities throughout the Delhi Waqf Board. The ED carried out these actions underneath the Prevention of Cash Laundering Act (PMLA).
In response to the raids, AAP leaders rallied in assist of Khan, with Manish Sisodia accusing the BJP and the ED of making an attempt to suppress dissent. “The ED’s sole function now appears to be to stifle any voice raised towards the BJP. They break those that resist and arrest those that refuse to give up,” Sisodia acknowledged. AAP MP Sanjay Singh additionally condemned the ED’s actions as “ruthless,” declaring that Khan had not too long ago cooperated with the investigation and had requested extra time because of his mother-in-law’s severe sickness.
The BJP took the chance to criticize the AAP, alleging widespread corruption, particularly in regards to the Delhi Waqf Board’s workers recruitment. This controversy dates again to September of the earlier yr when Khan, representing Delhi’s Okhla constituency, was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Department (ACB) for alleged monetary mismanagement and different irregularities throughout the Delhi Waqf Board. At the moment, AAP accused the BJP of concentrating on its leaders in reference to the forthcoming Gujarat elections. The BJP demanded Khan’s speedy removing from workplace.
Along with the political squabbling, it is very important look at the monetary irregularities that led to Khan’s arrest. Khan was first arrested by the ED in April however was later granted bail by the Delhi Rouse Avenue Court docket, with a private bond of Rs 15,000 and one surety of the identical quantity. In line with the ACB, the preliminary FIR on this case was filed in January 2020 underneath Part 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, together with Part 120B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
Later, Part 13 of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Part 409 of the IPC have been additionally included. Through the investigation, a witness revealed points associated to the tenancy of Waqf properties, alleging that in 2021, he had submitted the very best bid of Rs 30,000 for a Waqf Board store at Fatehpuri Masjid however was requested to pay Rs 10 lakh. When he refused, he was instructed to withdraw, and Khan subsequently accepted a decrease bid of Rs 19,000 from one other bidder, resulting in monetary loss for the Delhi Waqf Board, based on the Investigative Officer in court docket.
Moreover, the ACB obtained a press release from a feminine worker of the Delhi Waqf Board, who claimed that information associated to the Waqf Property Administration System of India (WAMSI) undertaking have been eliminated at Khan’s path. She alleged that Khan sought to keep away from transparency relating to Waqf Board properties to hide his alleged unlawful actions.
The WAMSI undertaking aimed to computerize Waqf Board properties. Following a two-year investigation, the ACB summoned Khan on September 16 and carried out raids at 4 areas linked to him, uncovering incriminating proof. Khan was initially positioned in four-day police custody, which was prolonged by 5 days on September 21, because the ACB wanted extra time for interrogation because of Khan’s well being points.
In October 2023, the ED additionally carried out searches at a number of areas associated to Khan, specializing in unlawful recruitment on the Delhi Waqf Board and Khan’s alleged private features from unfairly leasing Waqf Board properties throughout his tenure from 2018 to 2022. The ED claimed that Khan had obtained massive sums of cash by unlawful recruitment practices and used these proceeds to accumulate belongings within the names of his associates.
In January, the ED carried out extra searches at 9 areas linked to Khan, investigating cash laundering linked to the Delhi Waqf Board case. In February, the Delhi Excessive Court docket denied Khan speedy reduction towards the ED summons in a Rs 36 crore property case, revealed by diaries of his shut aide, Hamid Ali Khan. These diaries indicated vital transactions between Khan and Javed Imam Siddiqui, together with the acquisition of a Rs 36 crore plot in Tikona Park, Okhla. Hamid Ali Khan was arrested by the Delhi Police’s anti-corruption department in September 2022.
Later that month, Amanatullah Khan withdrew his plea difficult the ED summons. In April, the Supreme Court docket refused to grant reduction to Khan, criticizing his repeated absences from ED summonses. Following this resolution, the ED interrogated Khan for 13 hours and knowledgeable the Rouse Avenue Court docket of their intention to take care of their criticism towards him for “non-compliance,” resulting in his arrest.
