Money laundering case: AAP MP Sanjay Singh’s judicial custody extended till December 11

The ED also moved an application to protect a witness whose statements were put in the chargesheet which it had filed against Singh in the case on Saturday. The agency also requested the court to allow the use of a pseudonym for the witness in the supplementary chargesheet.

Singh’s counsel submitted in the court that the agency is using tactics to delay the case. While reserving the order on the ED’s submissions on December 11, the court directed that the application and the chargesheet be kept in a sealed cover till the order is pronounced.

Special Judge M K Nagpal also directed that an advance copy of the chargesheet be provided to Singh’s counsel, after removing the statements of the aforementioned witness.

In its 60-page chargesheet, the ED also named Singh’s alleged associate Sarvesh Mishra.

Singh was arrested on October 4 following 10 hours of searches at his North Avenue home. He was the third AAP leader to be arrested in the case after former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and party’s communications in-charge Vijay Nair.

The ED alleged that an accused businessman, Dinesh Arora, who later turned approver in the excise case, had given Rs 2 crore in cash to Singh. It also alleged that Singh had ensured changes were made in the liquor policy through Sisodia to favour certain businessmen.

Calling Singh a “key conspirator”, the ED in its remand application had said: “Sanjay Singh has exploited and gained illegal money/ kickbacks, which is ‘proceeds of crime’ generated from the liquor policy (2021-22) scam…(he) has been part of the conspiracy of collecting kickbacks from liquor groups…(he) has a close relationship with Dinesh Arora since 2017 as revealed by Dinesh Arora as well as from his call records.”

Calling the ED’s chargesheet “a pack of lies”, the AAP stated on Saturday, “The ED has filed several chargesheets so far in this completely fake case. But even after a thousand raids, it hasn’t found a single piece of evidence or recovered a single rupee. We have complete faith in the judicial system. Sanjay Singh is innocent and will be out soon. He is only paying the price for being the most fearless voice inside Parliament against Prime Minister Modi and his close friends.”

Claiming that it was not only the smallest but the “most targeted” political party in the country, caught in the crosshairs of the present BJP regime, the AAP added that more than 250 “fake cases” had been filed against its leaders so far “but not a single charge has been proven”.

Responding to AAP’s allegations, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor had earlier said, “Till the other day, the AAP leaders used to say there is no evidence against Sanjay Singh and police will not be able to file the chargesheet. Now, not only is the chargesheet filed but soon, on its basis, Sanjay Singh will face judicial prosecution and punishment.”