ED did not find anything during raid, just took away my mobile phone: AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan

AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan on Tuesday said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) did not find anything during a 12-hour raid at his residence here and just took away his mobile phone.

Khan claimed that a 2016 CBI FIR against him in connection with recruitment conducted at the Delhi Waqf Board did not have any corruption charge and alleged that he was simply harassed by the ED.

"They came to search my house at 7 am. There is nothing in my house. They did not get anything earlier, neither did they get anything this time," Khan said in front of his Okhla residence after the raid ended in the evening.

"They only took away my mobile phone. They harassed me for 12 hours. They opened all the boxes and drawers and rummaged through clothes," the Okhla MLA said.

The ED raided the premises of Khan as part of a money-laundering investigation against him and some others, official sources said.

The searches were undertaken under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and three-four premises were covered.

The searches were related to a 2016 FIR lodged by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). A chargesheet has been filed in the case, which is being heard by a court. The next date of hearing in the case is October 17, Khan said.

"They just kept harassing me, asking me to sit here and there. The family members were at home. No one was allowed to leave and all the mobile phones were switched off," he added.

The AAP leader claimed that there are no corruption charges in the FIR against him.

The charges against Khan pertain to irregularities. The legislator claimed that those employed at the Delhi Waqf Board were contractual and he had recruited them in accordance with rules. They worked at the waqf board for just two months, he claimed.

"We followed a better process than the old one. I also gave them (ED sleuths) sheets (documents) to show how recruitment used to be done. Earlier, it was done simply by taking applications. We issued an advertisement, a recruitment board was constituted and merit was the basis for recruitment," Khan said.

He said he will appear for questioning if the federal agency calls him again.

The ED has taken cognisance of a Delhi Anti-corruption Bureau (ACB) FIR and a CBI FIR against Khan, related to alleged corruption linked to illegal appointments in the Delhi Waqf Board.

Khan was arrested by the ACB in September 2022 and he later got bail from a court.

The ACB case pertained to 'financial misappropriation and other irregularities in the functioning of the Delhi Waqf Board'.

The ACB FIR had alleged that Khan, while working as the Delhi Waqf Board chairman, illegally recruited 32 people, violating all norms and government guidelines. It also accused him of corruption and favouritism.