Delhi: ED books Jahangirpuri accused for money laundering

Sources said if ED finds evidence of money laundering on part of Ansar, it will proceed with attachment of his properties and assets. “We will also take his custody in due course after the Delhi police finish examining him,” another ED official said.

Sources said there was information that Ansar was involved in various illegal activities including gambling. “We will probe if money generated through these criminal activities was used to foment trouble in Jahangirpuri,” an ED official said.

Twenty people have so far been arrested in connection with the riots that broke out during a shobha yatra to mark Hanuman Jayanti in Jahangirpuri last week. One of the accused, Ansar, is a history-sheeter with prior involvement in cases pertaining to assault, gambling and under the Arms Act. DCP (northwest) Usha Rangnani had earlier said that Ansar, a resident of B-block, was one of the main accused and conspirators in the case.

Police officers investigating the case suspect that Ansar is involved in gambling, which prompted them to approach the ED with the letter on Thursday. Around six to seven police personnel were injured during the riots and an official was also shot at amid the chaos.

The BJP and the AAP have been trading charges over the communal violence, each claiming that Ansar had links with the other.