ED ARRESTS AAP'S SANJAY SINGH IN DELHI EXCISE POLICY CASE

Singh's arrest comes after jail terms for former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain.

- ASHISH SINHA

After 12 hours of interrogation, on Wednesday evening, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh in a money-laundering case related to alleged Delhi Excise Policy scam. This arrest follows ED's earlier raids at Singh's residence in Delhi in connection with the same case. Sanjay Singh, Rajya Sabha MP, is the third senior AAP leader to be arrested by the Enforcement Directorate.

Earlier in the day, the ED conducted searches at Sanjay Singh's Delhi government residence over the liquor policy scam. These ED raids prompted a strong response from Delhi Chief Minister and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, who accused the BJP of resorting to desperate measures due to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. 

The Delhi liquor policy scam case revolves round the now-defunct Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. Allegations suggest that the AAP led Delhi government, under the policy meant to grant licences to liquor traders, favoured specific dealers who were alleged to have paid bribes. This allegation was vehemently denied by the ruling party.

The controversial policy was scrapped amid allegations of financial irregularities in its formation and implementation. Following this, the Delhi Lieutenant Governor recommended a CBI probe, leading the ED to register a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Regarding the charges against Sanjay Singh, the ED's charge-sheet claims that Dinesh Arora, a middleman, asserted that he met Singh during an event at his restaurant in Delhi. In 2020, Singh allegedly requested him to persuade restaurant owners to generate funds for the AAP for the Assembly elections in the national capital and purportedly paid him Rs 82 lakh by cheque for this purpose. Arora also alleged that the AAP MP assisted another accused, Amit Arora, in relocating his liquor shop from Okhla to Pitampur. Sanjay Singh has been named as an accused in the ED chargesheet.