ED Raids Underway At AAP MP Sanjay Singh's Residence In Excise Policy Case

ED Raids At Sanjay Singh's Residence: Making serious allegations, Sanjay Singh has alleged that the ED officers misused their position to tarnish his public image and demanded prosecution against them.

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in conducting raids at the residence of Aam Aadmi Party's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh's residence in connection with the Excise policy case on Wednesday. According to news agency ANI, the ED raids are being conducted in connection with its ongoing probe into the Delhi Excise Policy case in which several AAP leaders are under scanner.

#UPDATE | ED raids underway at the residence of AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, in connection with excise policy case: Sources https://t.co/MgIBcKQC05 — ANI (@ANI) October 4, 2023

Sanjay Singh had earlier in May written a letter to Finance Secretary T V Somanathan in which he alleged that the ED Director and Assistant Director deliberately linked his name to the alleged liquor scam without any basis, tarnishing his public image and defaming him.

The AAP MP mentioned that his name was added on the basis of statements from Dinesh Arora. Making serious allegations, Singh alleged that the officers misused their position tarnished his public image and demanded prosecution against them. 

He said he already sent a legal notice to the officers to issue an open and public apology. According to ED sources, the name of the AAP leader appears four times in the ED charge sheet out of which one reference was wrong and typed inadvertently.

It may be noted that two senior AAP leaders - former Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain and former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia - are already lodged in prison and facing trials in cases related to financial irregularities.

Importantly, the Supreme Court is also due to hear the bail plea of AAP leader and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in a matter connected with the excise policy case. On Tuesday, a Delhi court allowed Raghav Magunta, son of YSR Congress Party Lok Sabha MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, and Delhi-based businessman Dinesh Arora to turn approver in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Delhi excise policy scam.

Special Judge M K Nagpal pardoned both Magunta and Arora while directing them to cooperate with the investigation and disclose all information they have about the case to the investigators.

ED 'Targeting' Sanjay Singh For Raising Adani Issue In Parliament: AAP

The AAP has alleged that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is “targeting” their Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh as he raised issues related to the Adani Group in Parliament. The party said this in response to the ED raids on the premises of Singh in connection with the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case, officials said.

“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 were conducted at Sanjay Singh's residence,” AAP spokesperson Reena Gupta said.  

#WATCH | Delhi: On ED raids at the residence of AAP MP Sanjay Singh, National Spokesperson AAP Reena Gupta says "Since Sanjay Singh was continuously raising questions on the issue of PM Modi and Adani, this is the reason why raids are being conducted at his residence. Nothing was… pic.twitter.com/7USX2JhIhW — ANI (@ANI) October 4, 2023

Meanwhile, Sanjay Singh's father Dinesh Singh said they are cooperating with the ED. “The ED is doing their job. I don't know the exact time but around 7.30 am they came to conduct raids...I told ED officials they can conduct raids until late at night, we don't want them to visit again and again,” he said.  

#WATCH | Delhi: On ED raids at the residence of AAP MP Sanjay Singh, his father says "The Department is doing its work, we will cooperate with them...I will wait for the time when he will get clearance..." pic.twitter.com/7u4OajYixO — ANI (@ANI) October 4, 2023

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.