An ED team reached Raaj Kumar Anand's house this morning. (File)
Delhi Social Welfare Minister Raaj Kumar Anand's house is being searched by Enforcement Directorate in a customs-related money laundering case. An ED team reached the minister's house this morning and began searches.
Mr Anand, 57, a minister in the Arvind Kejriwal-led cabinet, is an MLA from Patel Nagar. He is the latest AAP leader under the central agency's scanner with his several party colleagues being probed in the Delhi liquor policy case.
The probe pertains to alleged false declarations in imports for customs evasions of over Rs 7 crore besides international hawala transactions, reports suggest. A local court had taken cognisance of the complaint by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, after which the ED filed a complaint against Mr Anand.
Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj slammed the ED for raiding Mr Anand's house and said his only mistake was that he belonged to the Aam Aadmi Party.
"The fault of Raaj Kumar Anand is that he is an AAP MLA and a minister from the party. Even during the British era, if you had to search someone's house, you needed a search warrant from the court. Today, ED needs no court warrant, their officers decide whose house they will raid. Raids are conducted only on the premises of Opposition leaders," he said.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was asked to appear before the ED in connection with the liquor policy case today, but he is going to skip the summons. The AAP had speculated that he may be arrested. Mr Kejriwal this morning slammed the central agency and asked them to take back their notice immediately, calling it "illegal" and "politically motivated".
Mr Kejriwal has been earlier questioned by the CBI in connection with the case. His close aide and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia remains in jail in the same case after Supreme Court denied him bail. Party MP Sanjay Singh was also arrested last month.
The AAP has accused the central government of trying to destroy the Mr Kejriwal-led party. "The Central government has only one objective - to destroy the Aam Aadmi Party at any cost. For this, they are leaving no stone unturned, including creating a fake case. The idea is to send Arvind Kejriwal to jail and destroy the Aam Aadmi Party," said Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj.
AAP is part of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and several members of the bloc have condemned the summons and said it is further proof of their stand that the central agencies are being misused by the BJP-led government.