On Tuesday, the Enforcement Directorate conducted searches at the residences of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s personal assistant, Bibhav Kumar, and several individuals associated with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as part of a money laundering investigation linked to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Jal Board (DJB), according to official sources.<\/p>\n
Approximately 10-12 premises in the national capital are currently under scrutiny as part of the raids conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).<\/p>\n
The locations being searched include those of Bibhav Kumar, former Delhi Jal Board member Shalabh Kumar, the office of AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP and national treasurer N D Gupta, among others, by officials of the central agency.<\/p>\n
These raids are connected to a probe into alleged irregularities in the tendering process of the Delhi Jal Board, which led to the recent arrests of retired chief engineer Jagdish Kumar Arora and contractor Anil Kumar Aggarwal by the ED.<\/p>\n
A special PMLA court on Monday extended their remand by five days, with the ED arguing that further interrogation was necessary to uncover a “larger conspiracy.”<\/p>\n
The timing of the ED raids coincided with a statement made by Delhi cabinet minister Atishi, who had promised to reveal significant information about the agency. Atishi alleged in a press conference that the ED had tampered with audio recordings of witness statements in various cases, including the ongoing excise policy probe involving AAP members. She challenged the agency to present the recordings in court and to the public.<\/p>\n
Atishi claimed that the recent raids on AAP leaders were conducted to intimidate the party.<\/p>\n
According to reports, searches were conducted at the residences of Gupta and his personal assistant, as well as the personal assistant of CM Kejriwal.<\/p>\n
The ED is currently investigating two separate cases related to irregularities in the DJB’s tendering process. One case stems from an FIR filed by the CBI, alleging favoritism toward NKG Infrastructure Limited in awarding a tender for electro-magnetic flow metres installation, in collusion with NBCC (India) Limited officials. The other case originates from a complaint filed by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of the Delhi government in November 2022, concerning a tender awarded for setting up automotive bill payment collection machines (kiosks) in DJB offices.<\/p>\n