AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan arrested by ED over Waqf Board irregularities

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Amanatullah Khan on Monday in connection with alleged irregularities related to appointments and the leasing of properties by the Delhi Waqf Board.

The properties in question are valued at approximately Rs 100 crore. Khan’s arrest came after an early morning raid at his Delhi residence, during which tensions ran high.

In a video posted on X, Khan criticised the ED’s actions, citing the presence of his recently operated mother-in-law, who is battling cancer, as a source of distress during the raid. “The ED arrived under the guise of a search warrant to arrest me. My mother-in-law, a cancer patient who had surgery just four days ago, is here at home,” Khan stated, expressing his frustration.

Khan has denied all allegations, accusing the ED of persecuting him with “false cases” over the past two years and alleging that the agency’s actions are part of a broader strategy to undermine the AAP. “They are targeting our party, but we will not be intimidated,” said Khan, the MLA from Okhla.

On social media, Khan declared his defiance, asserting that “revolutionaries will not bow down to dictatorship,” while dismissing the ED’s actions as part of a “fabricated case.” His arrest marks him as the fourth high-profile AAP leader to face legal challenges from central agencies, following former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh.

Sisodia and Singh have both been granted bail; Sisodia’s release came after nearly 18 months in jail, with the Supreme Court condemning the prolonged detention without trial as a “travesty of justice.” Meanwhile, Kejriwal remains behind bars despite securing bail in one case, due to subsequent legal manoeuvres by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Singh and Sisodia have both criticised the ED’s approach, highlighting repeated rebukes from the Supreme Court regarding the agency’s conduct. Singh pointedly criticised the ED’s raid on Khan’s residence, especially given the fragile health of Khan’s mother-in-law, and noted that the case against Khan originated from a CBI investigation dating back to 2016. Singh stated that the CBI, after extensive investigation, chose not to arrest Khan, underscoring his belief that Khan had committed no wrongdoing.