ED raids AAP MP Sanjay Singh's premises in excise policy case

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday morning raided Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh's home in connection with a money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy, officials said.

Premises of some others connected to the case are also being covered, they said.

The ED had earlier questioned members of the staff and those linked to the 51-year-old Rajya Sabha MP.

The ED had mentioned Singh's name in its charge sheet. It stated that Dinesh Arora, a middleman, had said he had met Singh during a party in his restaurant Unplugged Courtyard.

In 2020, it said, Singh requested him to ask restaurant owners to generate funds for the Aam Aadmi Party for the Delhi assembly elections. He said he gave a cheque of Rs 82 lakh for the funds.

According to the charge sheet, Dinesh Arora said in his statement that another accused Amit Arora wanted help in shifting his liquor shop from Okhla to Pitampura. He managed this through Singh who told Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and the matter was resolved by the Excise Department.

Dinesh Arora also said he met Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal once at his residence with Singh while he had spoken to Sisodia five-six times, the charge sheet stated.

Responding to the searches at its leader's residence, AAP alleged that the ED has targeted Singh as he raised issues related to the Adani group in Parliament.

"Sanjay Singh kept on raising questions on the issue of Adani and this is why the raids are being conducted at his residence. The Central agencies found nothing earlier and won't find anything today either. First, they conducted raids at the residence of some journalists yesterday and today, raids conducted at Sanjay Singh's residence," AAP spokesperson Reena Gupta said.

Singh's father Dinesh Singh said they are cooperating with the ED.

It is alleged that the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the AAP.

The policy was subsequently scrapped and the Delhi lieutenant governor recommended a CBI probe, following which the ED registered a case under the PMLA.

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BJP resorting to desperate measures: Kejriwal

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the ED raids on Singh's residence showed that the Bharatiya Janata Party was resorting to desperate measures as it stares at a defeat in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Many such raids will take place but there is nothing to be scared of, the AAP national convener said.

"They have been probing the alleged liquor scam for the last year but nothing has been found yet. Nothing will be found at Sanjay Singh's residence. When someone is staring at defeat, they resort to desperate measures. That is what is happening right now," Kejriwal told reporters during his visit to the Okhla landfill site.

The chief minister said such raids will only increase as the election nears.

"ED, CBI, I-T and police all the agencies will become active as the elections come closer. Yesterday, it was journalists and today, it is Sanjay Singh. Many such raids will happen. But there is no need to be scared," he added.

On the Supreme Court hearing his former deputy Manish Sisodia's bail plea, Kejriwal said, "The blessings of children are with him. We hope we will get justice from the Supreme Court today."