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New Delhi:
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today conducted searches at the residence of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjeev Arora in Punjab’s Ludhiana. Officials said the raids were held in a money laundering probe case.
According to sources, Mr Arora, AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP, is accused of fraudulently acquiring land worth crores in the name of his company.
Reacting to the ED action, Mr Arora said he was “not sure” about the reason for the search operations.
“I am a law-abiding citizen, am not sure about the reason for the search operation, will cooperate fully with agencies and make sure all their queries are answered,” he wrote on X.
I am a law abiding citizen, am not sure about the reason for search operation, will cooperate fully with agencies and make sure all their queries are answered.
— Sanjeev Arora (@MP_SanjeevArora) October 7, 2024
The probe agency conducted raids at 17 locations across Ludhiana, Jalandhar and Delhi, including at the residence of realtor Hemant Sood.
Senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia attacked the ED, saying they had raided many leaders of his party but “found nothing”.
“Since this morning, the ED is raiding the house of Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjeev Arora. In the last two years, they have raided (former Delhi chief minister) Arvind Kejriwal’s house, my house, (AAP MP) Sanjay Singh’s house, (former Delhi minister) Satyendra Jain’s house… nothing was found anywhere,” he posted on X in Hindi.
Mr Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26, 2023, in the alleged Delhi liquor policy scam. The ED then arrested him in the money laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9, 2023. He was granted bail in August this year.
Besides him, senior AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Sanjay Singh, and Satyendar Jain have also faced the ED heat. While Mr Kejriwal and Mr Singh have been granted bail, Mr Jain, who was arrested by the probe agency in May 2022, remains in custody.