New Delhi:

Delhi Minister Atishi has been hospitalised after her health deteriorated due to her indefinite hunger strike over the water crisis in the national capital, her party said on Tuesday.

In a post on ‘X’, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) said that the 43-year-old water minister was admitted to the emergency ICU at Delhi’s Lok Nayak Hospital after her blood sugar level dropped to 36. 

“Her blood sugar level dropped to 43 at midnight and to 36 at 3 AM, after which LNJP Hospital doctors advised immediate hospitalization. She has not eaten anything for the last five days,” the AAP said and posted pictures of Ms Atishi being taken to the hospital.

“She’s been admitted in the emergency ICU at LNJP. We pray for her speedy recovery,” it added.

Water Minister Atishi’s health deteriorates

Her blood sugar level dropped to 43 at midnight and to 36 at 3 AM, after which LNJP Hospital doctors advised immediate hospitalization. She has not eaten anything for the last five days and is on an indefinite hunger strike… pic.twitter.com/nl5iTfnwnT

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) June 24, 2024

Ms Atishi, who began her hunger strike on June 21 amid a prolonged heatwave in Delhi, has demanded the Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Haryana release water for the national capital. She has accused Haryana of depriving nearly 28 lakh people of Delhi by releasing 100 million gallons per day (MGD) less water.

ALSO READ | Amid Delhi Water Crisis, AAP’s Appeal To Haryana On “Humanitarian Ground”

“There are 2.8 million people in the city who are aching for just a drop of water,” she said on Monday, the fourth day of her fast.

“My blood pressure and sugar levels are dropping and my weight has gone down. Ketone level is very high which can have harmful effects in the long run,” she said in a video message posted on her official X account.

अनिश्चितक़ालीन अनशन का चौथा दिन- जलमंत्री आतिशी का दिल्लीवालों के लिए संदेश

-Posted by Team Atishi#PaaniSatyagrah4thDaypic.twitter.com/Fc8hkdjtXB

— Atishi (@AtishiAAP) June 24, 2024

No matter how much my body suffers, I will continue the fast till Haryana releases water, the AAP minister said.

Atishi Lost 2 Kg In 4 Days: AAP

The Aam Aadmi Party on Monday said that Atishi has lost about 2 kg weight in the four days of her indefinite fast.

In a statement, the party said, “Water Minister Atishi’s weight is decreasing unexpectedly. Before sitting on hunger strike on June 21, her weight was 65.8 kg which has come down to 63.6 kg on the fourth day of the hunger strike. That is, her weight has decreased by 2.2 kg in just four days,” the statement said.

ALSO READ | Atishi, Raghav Chadha Meet Arvind Kejriwal In Jail, Discuss Water Crisis

The party also said that her blood sugar level has decreased by 28 units on the fourth day as compared to the first day of the hunger strike.

Earlier on Sunday, Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena held a meeting with a delegation of AAP leaders and said that Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini has assured that he will look into whether his state can provide extra water to the city.

New Delhi:

Aam Aadmi Party’s Sanjay Singh, arrested in the Delhi liquor policy case, will be in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate till Friday.

Last week, a Delhi Court had remanded the Rajya Sabha MP to five-day custody of the probe agency which accuses him of being a “key conspirator” in the case.

The ED had told the court that a businessman had given Rs 2 crore to Mr Singh and this sum was part of the money trail in the case.

The agency also alleged that the AAP leader had close ties with several accused, including businessman Dinesh Arora — who recently turned approver in the case.

Mr Singh — who has denied any wrongdoing — was arrested on Wednesday after day-long searches at his residence.

He is the second senior AAP leader to be arrested in connection with the alleged irregularities in the liquor policy, after Delhi’s former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia.

Mr Sisodia, who was arrested in February, is still in jail. He is fighting for bail in the Supreme Court, which has asked the ED several tough questions.

Mr Sisodia — the Delhi government’s excise commissioner during the formulation of the 2021 liquor policy that was later scrapped — is the prime accused in the case. Investigating agencies have referred to him as the “kingpin” and “mastermind”.

AAP has said Mr Singh’s arrest is a result of the BJP’s “frustration” with the Opposition parties coming together under the INDIA bloc ahead of next year’s general election.

The central investigating agencies contend that liquor companies were involved in framing the 2021 excise policy, which would have led to a 12 per cent profit for the firms.

They allege that a liquor lobby dubbed the “South Group” had paid kickbacks for it. Of the proposed 12 per cent profit, six per cent was routed to public servants through middlemen, the CBI has claimed.

New Delhi:

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed Delhi’s Rouse Avenue District Court on Saturday that it has no intention of shifting Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh to the lockup of Tughlak Road Police Station since the pest control work in the ED office’s lockup is completed.

Special judge Vikas Dhull, after noting the submission of ED, disposed of the application of Sanjay Singh as infructuous.

“In light of submissions made by Ld. Special Counsel for ED, the application filed by applicant/accused has become infructuous and stands disposed of accordingly,” the court ordered.

An application was moved on behalf of Sanjay Singh saying that the Enforcement Directorate officials tried to shift from the premises of ED to Police Station Tughlak Road on purported grounds where he could be tortured.

Sanjay Singh through his legal counsels Dr. Farrukh Khan and Prakash Priyadarshi raised the issue of his safety and security.

The petition stated that when Mr Singh asked for the reason for shifting, he was told that the purported reason for shifting was the use of pesticides in the lockup of ED headquarters.

Mr Singh further claimed that it’s beyond comprehension that a premier agency has only one lockup. He said that even if pesticide was used in the lockup then he should have been shifted to another lockup in the ED HQ. When he resisted the attempt, he was made to sleep outside the lockup and subjected to inhuman treatment, the petition stated.

A short notice was issued to ED on the application.

During arguments on the application, ED’s Special Counsel submitted that the agency has no intention of shifting the applicant/accused to the lockup at PS Tuglak Road since work of pesticide control at the lockup in the ED office stands completed.

It was also submitted that pest control measures were taken in lockup at the ED’s office, which was planned on 03.10.2023 i.e. prior to sending of the present applicant/accused in ED custody on 05.10.2023.

It was further submitted that since the applicant/accused had refused to be shifted to the other place due to pesticide treatment in the lockup room, therefore his consent was taken in writing for keeping him in an interrogation room at the ED office.

On Thursday, the court had sent Sanjay Singh to remand till October 10, 2023, in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.

The ED on Wednesday evening arrested Sanjay Singh after a day-long questioning by the ED officials at his Delhi residence.

Allegedly, Sanjay Singh’s party colleague and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is also involved in the same liquor policy scam. He is currently lodged in jail in connection with the same. The former Delhi Deputy chief minister and excise minister was first arrested by the CBI on February 26 for his alleged role in the scam.

The federal agency on Wednesday morning raided the residence of Sanjay Singh in connection with the Delhi excise policy case.

The development followed closely on the heels of the ED’s raid on the premises belonging to two of Sanjay Singh’s close aides in the same context.

The case connects with claims that Mr Singh and his partners played a part in the Delhi government’s decision to give licenses to alcohol shops and merchants in 2020, causing losses to the state exchequer and violating anti-corruption laws.

ED has previously searched a number of locations including the homes and offices of Sanjay Singh’s close associate Ajit Tyagi and other contractors and businessmen who allegedly benefited from the policy. In its nearly 270-page supplementary chargesheet, the ED has called Mr Sisodia a key conspirator in the case.

The Delhi liquor scam or the excise policy case pertains to allegations that the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22 allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge that has been strongly refuted by the AAP.

ED has so far filed five chargesheets in the case, including against Mr Sisodia.

ED, last year filed its first chargesheet in the case. The agency said it has so far undertaken over 200 search operations in this case after filing FIR after taking cognisance of a CBI case which was registered on the recommendation of the Delhi lieutenant governor.

The CBI inquiry was recommended on the findings of the Delhi chief secretary’s report filed in July showing prima facie violations of the GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR)-1993, Delhi Excise Act-2009, and Delhi Excise Rules-2010, officials had said.

The ED and the CBI had alleged that irregularities were committed while modifying the Excise Policy, undue favours were extended to licence holders, the licence fee was waived or reduced and the L-1 licence was extended without the competent authority’s approval.

The beneficiaries diverted “illegal” gains to the accused officials and made false entries in their books of account to evade detection.

As per the allegations, the Excise Department had decided to refund the Earnest Money Deposit of about Rs 30 crore to a successful tenderer against the set rules. Even though there was no enabling provision, a waiver on tendered licence fees was allowed from December 28, 2021, to January 27, 2022, due to COVID-19.

This allegedly caused a loss of Rs 144.36 crore to the exchequer, which has been instituted on a reference from the Union Home Ministry following a recommendation from Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh is being questioned by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case. A Delhi Court remanded the Rajya Sabha MP to five-day custody of the probe agency which alleged that Mr Singh was a “key conspirator” in the case.

The ED told the court that a businessman had given Rs 2 crore to Mr Singh and this sum was part of the money trail in Delhi liquor policy case. The agency also alleged that the AAP leader had close ties with several accused, including businessman Dinesh Arora – who recently turned approver in the case.

“The accused (Sanjay Singh) was involved in a criminal conspiracy for extending favours to private persons through the policy formulation,” the agency said in its application.

The ED told the court that it has seized digital evidence from the AAP MP’s premises and would confront him. It alleged that the money was delivered by Sarvesh, an employee of Arora. “There is a direct link to proceeds of crime,” the ED counsel told the court.

Special Judge MK Nagpal remanded Mr Singh in ED custody till October 10 to enable the federal probe agency to interrogate him. He will be produced before the court on expiry of his custody.

The judge noted that from the allegations being levelled against the accused and the material placed before the court regarding his “direct nexus with activities pertaining to proceeds of crime by way of receiving Rs 2 crore”, his “sustained and custodial interrogation appeared to be necessary to trace out the complete trail thereof.”

“Therefore, in view of the above and the totality of facts and circumstances, the accused is being remanded to the custody of ED till October 10, 2023 for the purposes of his detailed and sustained interrogation and confrontations with the oral and documentary evidence and he shall be produced before this court at 2 pm on that day,” the judge said.

Sanjay Singh was arrested on Wednesday following day-long searches at his residence. He is the second senior AAP leader to be arrested in connection with the alleged irregularities in the liquor policy case, after Delhi’s former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. Mr Sisodia, who was arrested in February, is fighting for bail in Supreme Court, which today fielded tough questions to the ED.

The AAP has said Mr Singh’s arrest was a result of the BJP’s “frustration” with the Opposition parties coming together under the INDIA bloc ahead of the 2024 general election.

New Delhi:

A Delhi court today sent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh to the custody of the Enforcement Directorate for five days, a day after he was arrested in a money laundering case related to the now-scrapped liquor policy.

A businessman had given Rs 3 crore to Mr Singh and this sum was part of the money trail in Delhi liquor policy case, the ED told the court.

The ED’s submission was based on the statements of Delhi businessman Dinesh Arora, an accused in the liquor policy case who has now turned an approver.

The ED told the court that it has seized digital evidence from the AAP MP’s premises and would confront him. It alleged that the money was delivered by Sarvesh, an employee of Arora. “There is a direct link to proceeds of crime,” the ED counsel told the court.

Sanjay Singh’s counsel said Arora is an accused who has turned an approver. “Dinesh Arora was arrested by the same ED. Now he has turned approver,” he said, adding that Mr Singh has never been summoned in the case earlier.

“ED is saying they have conducted 239 searches. Is the ED saying that they are going to confront Sanjay Singh with the evidence collected from 239 searches?” his counsel asked.

Responding to why Mr Singh has been arrested now, the ED said Arora’s statement about giving Rs 2 crore to the AAP leader was recorded in August.

On the accused-turned-approver charge of the AAP leader’s counsel, the ED said, “Dinesh Arora is an approver based on a judicial order of this court. The argument that the statement of Dinesh Arora against Sanjay Singh taken due to inducement is pure imagination.”

At this point, the Rajya Sabha MP said that all the allegations against him are “lies”. “Dinesh Arora and Amit Arora were in the custody of the agencies for all these days, now they have taken my name. I am saying with folded hands, if there is any truth in any of this evidence, give me the maximum punishment. But this is a case of vendetta,” he said. The ED objected to this, saying the court is “not a political forum”.

Mr Singh was arrested yesterday following day-long searches at his residence. He is the second senior AAP leader to be arrested in connection with the alleged irregularities in the liquor policy case, after Delhi’s former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. Mr Sisodia, who was arrested in February, is fighting for bail in Supreme Court, which today fielded tough questions to the ED.

The AAP has said Mr Singh’s arrest was a result of the BJP’s “frustration” with the Opposition parties coming together under the INDIA bloc ahead of the 2024 general election.

“They are rattled by INDIA alliance since its formation. They feel that if this alliance is successful, and it will be, they will lose badly. Sanjay Singh’s arrest is a fallout of that frustration. More leaders will be arrested,” AAP leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said after Mr Singh’s arrest. “They have investigated so much, but did not find anything. Everyone’s time is being wasted, be it the probe agency or the nation. Nothing will be achieved by framing us in false cases,” Mr Kejriwal said today.

The BJP has alleged that the AAP has engaged in “open corruption” and is resorting to politics now that it has been allegations of wrongdoing.

“AAP MP Sanjay Singh has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a liquor scam case. It is in AAP’s nature to engage in corruption openly, and when they are caught, they start playing politics,” the BJP’s Sambit Patra told the media.

New Delhi:

In a strong message to his colleagues in the Aam Aadmi Party before his arrest, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh reminded them that they are soldiers of the party and they have to continue the fight against the “corrupt” BJP government at the centre. “Marna manzoor hai, darna nahin (We are ready to die, but not to be scared),” the defiant MP declared.

In the video message, recorded before his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi liquor policy case, Mr Singh said he has been relentlessly fighting and raising his voice against the corruption of the Narendra Modi government.

“Today, the ED suddenly reached my house and carried out searches for the whole day and investigated everything, but found nothing. Despite this, I am being arrested. But we are soldiers of the Aam Aadmi Party and we want to tell Modiji that he is losing the next elections, and losing badly,” Mr Singh claimed.

“This is a sign of your frustration and defeat. This is an example of a scared Prime Minister inflicting cruelty and dictatorship and jailing people to try and win elections. But I want to remind Modiji that whenever tyranny increases, the people rise up to raise their voices against it. We are ready to die, but not to be scared. No matter how much suffering Modiji inflicts on me, I always have, and will continue to, speak against the corruption of the Narendra Modi government,” the MP said in Hindi. 

Mr SIngh alleged that, after his arrest, fake news will be planted against him and fake information will be disseminated.

The Enforcement Directorate carried out a raid at the residence of Sanjay Singh on Wednesday morning and arrested him in the evening. He has been arrested in a money laundering case linked to the investigation into the Delhi liquor policy.

While the BJP has justified his arrest and even hinted at action being taken at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal next, the AAP has insisted that 15 months of investigation into the case have yielded nothing. Former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia had also been arrested in connection with the case in February. 

New Delhi:

Aam Aadmi Party leader Sanjay Singh was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate today in connection with the Delhi excise policy-linked money laundering case. He is the third AAP leader to be arrested by a central agency.

Before him, Manish Sisodia was arrested earlier this year and Satyendar Jain was arrested last year.

In April, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was also questioned for nearly nine hours by the CBI in the liquor policy case. He was questioned as a witness in the case which investogators said involved corruption in framing the policy to benefit a liquor lobby. He hasn’t been summoned for further questioning since then.

Earlier in the day, the Enforcement Directorate raided Mr Singh’s home. The ED had earlier questioned members of the staff and those linked to the 51-year-old Rajya Sabha MP.

Coming out in support of his party MP,  Arvind Kejriwal said that nothing will be found at his residence, adding that all agencies like the Enforcement Directorate or ED and CBI will get active as the 2024 elections are coming.

Manish Sisodia

The CBI on February 26 arrested Manish Sisodia, then the deputy chief minister of Delhi, for alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. He has been in custody since then.

Soon after, on February 28, he resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28.

Mr Sisodia held the excise portfolio among the many that he handled as the deputy chief minister.

The ED arrested him in a money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9 after questioning him in Tihar Jail.

According to the federal investigative agencies, irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy and undue favours were extended to licence holders.

The Delhi government implemented the policy on November 17, 2021, but scrapped it at the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption.

Satyendar Jain

Former Delhi minister Satyendar Jain was arrested in May last year in a money laundering case.

The ED had arrested the AAP leader on the charge of laundering money through four companies allegedly linked to him.

The case is based on a CBI complaint registered on the allegation that Satyendar Jain had acquired movable properties in the name of various persons from February 14, 2015, to May 31, 2017, which he could not satisfactorily account for.

Mr Jain is currently out on bail on medical grounds. The Supreme Court on Monday extended further interim bail granted to him till October 8.

The 59-year-old had a spinal surgery on July 21.

The Supreme Court while granting interim bail to Mr Jain on May 26, had said a citizen has a right to receive treatment of his choice.

The top court had also given Mr Jain to choose any hospital of his choice for his medical treatment.

New Delhi:

In yet another blow for the Aam Aadmi Party, the Enforcement Directorate has arrested its Rajya Sabha MP, Sanjay Singh, in a money laundering case linked to the investigation into the Delhi liquor policy. Searches were being conducted at the Delhi residence of the MP since early on Wednesday morning. 

This is the third major arrest from the party. Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain was arrested in May last year on charges of laundering money through four companies that were allegedly linked to him.

The biggest setback for the party, however, came in February this year, when then Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and close Arvind Kejriwal aide Manish Sisodia was arrested by the CBI in the alleged liquor policy scam. 

The raids against Mr Singh took place after he was named by businessman Dinesh Arora, an accused in the case, who later turned ‘approver’.

Mr Arora claimed that the AAP leader had introduced him to Mr Sisodia, who was the excise minister.

Raids, Defence

Search operations began at the Rajya Sabha MP’s residence early on Wednesday morning and went on for a few hours. AAP workers reached his house and raised slogans against the BJP and the “misuse” of agencies. Additional police personnel were posted to prevent the situation from escalating.

Mr Singh will be taken to the Enforcement Directorate office, where his statement will be recorded. He is likely to be produced in court on Thursday afternoon and the agency is expected to seek his custody.

Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal came out in support of his colleague while the raids were being conducted and, without naming the BJP, accused the party of engaging in desperate attempts to derail rivals ahead of next year’s general election.

“For the last year we have been hearing noise about the alleged liquor scam. More than 1,000 raids have been conducted and not a single paisa was recovered. They just keep alleging ‘scam’… I did a lot of investigation and found nothing,” Mr Kejriwal claimed.

“Nothing is going to be found from Sanjay Singh’s place too. Elections are coming and they feel (they) are losing… so it appears to be the last desperate attempt of the losing side,” he said.

After news of the arrest came out, Mr Raghav Chadha made similar allegations and did not shy away from hitting out at the BJP directly.

“They have been investigating the case for 15 months but have not been able to unearth even a single rupee of illegal money. So much time and so many resources have been expended but they haven’t been able to prove anything. This is just a political vendetta. The BJP knows it is losing,” he said.

Arrest Predicted?

The Enforcement Directorate, which has filed multiple chargesheets in connection with the case, has never named Sanjay Singh as an accused, nor summoned him to record his statement.

Months earlier, Mr Singh had posted a photo on X, formerly Twitter, of him standing next to posters outside his home “welcoming” the Enforcement Directorate to his “poor house”. 

pic.twitter.com/ordJpB3Jia

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) October 4, 2023

The AAP re-posted that photo on X – with fire emojis – on Wednesday morning.

New Delhi:

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday searched Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh’s home in Delhi over a money laundering case linked to the liquor policy case that haunts the ruling Aam Aadmi Party.

Mr Singh joins Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, his former deputy Manish Sisodia, Telangana politician K Kavitha, and others in being raided, questioned or arrested, or all three in connection with alleged corruption in the now-withdrawn liquor sales policy introduced by the Delhi government in 2021.

READ | Searches At AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh’s House In Delhi Liquor Policy Case

Mr Sisodia was arrested in March and has failed in repeated attempts to get bail.

READ | CBI Explains Why Manish Sisodia Was Arrested After 8-Hour Questioning

Months before today’s raids, a defiant Mr Singh posed next to posters outside his home “welcoming” the Enforcement Directorate; that photo was re-shared on X by the AAP, with fire emojis, this morning.

ED Raids On Sanjay Singh

Today’s raids against Mr Singh comes after he was named by an accused in the case – businessman Dinesh Arora – who later became an ‘approver’, and a font of information for the authorities.

READ | Delhi Liquor Policy Case Explained: Allegations, Investigations, Arrests

Mr Arora was released on bail on August 1.

The agency believes Sanjay Singh arranged the meeting between Dinesh Arora and Manish Sisodia, who has been arrested by both the Enforcement Directorate and the Central Bureau of Investigation.

Mr Sisodia was then the Delhi government’s excise minister.

The Enforcement Directorate, which has filed three chargesheets so far, has never actually named Sanjay Singh as an accused nor summoned him to record a statement. The agency has, however, referred to the AAP leader in its documents – something that sparked a massive row of its own.

A furious Mr Singh claimed a conspiracy to “tarnish” his political credentials and image. He wrote to the Union Finance Secretary (the Enforcement Directorate reports to the Finance Ministry) for permission to prosecute the agency chief for making “false and derogatory claims” against him.

This was after the central agency told the courts one (of four) reference to Mr Singh was a “typographical/clerical error”; the agency said it wanted to name Rahul Singh – then the Delhi excise commissioner – at that place, and that naming Sanjay Singh was an “inadvertent error”.

The AAP, however, alleged Mr Singh’s name has been mentioned in the chargesheet “at the behest of the PMO (Prime Minister’s Office)” to defame the party and its leaders. Mr Singh slammed the agency for conducting “a baseless” probe into the alleged scam.

Arvind Kejriwal Responds

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister and AAP boss Arvind Kejriwal came out in support of his colleague.

READ | “1,000 Searches But Nothing”: Arvind Kejriwal As AAP MP Is Raided

He has accused the Enforcement Directorate of acting on behalf of the BJP (he did not name the party) to target rivals ahead of next year’s general election. Mr Kejriwal also claimed “more than 1,000 raids” had failed to find “a single paise” of illegally acquired money.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.

New Delhi:

A search is underway at Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh’s house in a money laundering case linked to the Delhi liquor policy case. Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials reached the Rajya Sabha MP’s Delhi house early morning.

Mr Singh is the latest AAP leader to be under the central agencies’ scanner in the liquor policy case after Manish Sisodia, a former deputy chief minister in the AAP government in Delhi, was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in February.

The excise policy case was filed in connection with the Delhi government’s liquor policy of 2021 that was later scrapped. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was also questioned for nearly nine hours in the same case in April.

pic.twitter.com/ordJpB3Jia

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) October 4, 2023

Mr Singh had months earlier put up posters outside his house to “welcome” ED officials. The AAP shared the photo on X, formerly known as Twitter, with fire emojis in response to the searches.

The BJP stated it has been saying that the AAP has looted the people of Delhi. “They made crores through this liquor policy,” said Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva.

Sanjay Singh’s father said the probe agency is doing its work and he will cooperate with them. “I will wait for the time when he (Mr Singh) gets clearance,” he told reporters.

Businessman Dinesh Arora, one of the approvers in the case, had claimed that Mr Singh introduced him to Mr Sisodia, the then excise minister. But he was never named as an accused by the ED, which has filed three chargesheets in the case. He was neither summoned nor was his statement recorded in this connection, though the contents of the chargesheets made references to him.

The CBI contends that liquor companies were involved in framing the excise policy, which would have led to a 12 per cent profit for the firms. The agency alleged that a liquor lobby it dubbed the “South Group” had paid kickbacks for it. Of the proposed 12 per cent profit, six per cent was routed to public servants through middlemen, the agency claimed.

The ED is probing into the alleged laundering of the kickbacks.

After the policy was scrapped, the BJP said the Delhi government went back to the old liquor policy to cover up the corruption. Mr Sisodia had denied any wrongdoing and his party said his arrest was an “attack on the Delhi model of governance”.