AAP MP Sanjay Singh is latest ED arrest in Delhi excise policy case

The ED action against Singh, who has emerged as the AAP’s voice in the Rajya Sabha alongside Punjab MP Raghav Chadha, evoked a sharp reaction from Delhi Chief Minister and party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal. He called the arrest “completely illegal” and said that “it shows Modi ji’s nervousness”. “They will arrest many more opposition leaders till the elections,” he tweeted.

संजय सिंह की गिरफ़्तारी बिलकुल ग़ैर क़ानूनी है। ये मोदी जी की बौखलाहट दर्शाता है। चुनाव तक ये कई और विपक्षी नेताओं को गिरफ़्तार करेंगे।

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) October 4, 2023

Singh was arrested from his residence at North Avenue, outside which he had put up a poster that read: “Phakkad house main ED ka swagat hai (ED is welcome at this penniless house).”

A video released by the AAP shows him taking blessings from his mother before he is taken away by ED officials. “Chinta na karo, himmat rakhho (Don’t worry, stay strong),” he can be heard telling her.

The AAP also released a video recorded by Singh before his arrest. “I have consistently been raising my voice against the corruption of the Narendra Modi government and Adani’s mega scam… there was no action on such complaints, but today the ED suddenly turned up at my door, conducting its investigation for hours. They found nothing, but despite this, I am being forcibly placed under arrest. But we are all soldiers of the Aam Aadmi Party and we want to tell Modi ji that you are losing the elections and that too spectacularly. This signals your disappointment, your defeat,” he said in the video.

Several allies of the AAP in the opposition’s INDIA bloc, including the RJD, JDU, TMC, Shiv Sena (UBT) and PDP, also slammed the government.

मरना मंजूर है,
झुकना मंजूर नहीं है

मैंने Adani के घोटालों का खुलासा किया, ED के पास शिकायतें की

लेकिन अडानी के ख़िलाफ़ कोई कार्रवाई नहीं हुई।

Modi जी 2024 का चुनाव बुरी तरह हार रहे हैं

वो जुल्म करके, लोगों को Jail में डाल कर जीत नहीं सकते।

मैं पहले भी Adani के घोटालों के… pic.twitter.com/ofzl6I4wwM

— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) October 4, 2023

Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said, “The BJP is troubling regional parties which are doing good work. The fact is that if you speak the truth, speak against the present government, ask questions, raise the voice of the people… then there will be attempts to crush you.”

The excise policy case pertains to the now-scrapped liquor policy, which was introduced by the Delhi government with the stated objective of increasing revenue and weeding out corruption by privatising the sector. The policy was scrapped after allegations emerged that some private players had been extended undue benefits.

The main gate of Sanjay Singh’s residence has been barricaded by the police as AAP workers gathered outside and raised slogans against the Centre over his arrest. pic.twitter.com/EiWhDzjTb2

— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) October 4, 2023

In the prosecution complaint filed by the ED in the case, Singh’s name appears in a statement by businessman Dinesh Arora, an accused. According to the complaint, he told the agency that he initially met Singh, through whom he eventually met Sisodia, at a party in a restaurant. The complaint, which is akin to a chargesheet, quotes Arora as saying that he spoke to many restaurant owners “on request of Mr Singh”, and “arranged cheques amounting to Rs 82 lakh (handed over to Mr Sisodia)” for collection of party funds.

In May, Singh had taken on the ED and sent a legal notice to agency officials for “maliciously” imputing his involvement in the case. The ED had said in a reply that out of the four references to him in a supplementary prosecution complaint filed by the agency, “a typographical/clerical error has inadvertently crept in” and he was named inadvertently, but only in one place.

Singh’s arrest came a day after a Delhi court allowed Raghav Magunta Reddy, son of YSR Congress Party MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, and businessman Dinesh Arora, both accused in the case, to turn approvers.