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Hitting out at the central government over the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids against him, Delhi Cabinet Minister Raaj Kumar Anand on Friday said that they are "politically motivated".
"It is politically motivated. It is now considered wrong to raise the voices of minorities, speak the truth, and carry out businesses in the country. The country should be united against it," Anand told ANI here in the national capital. The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) conducted search operations at 13 locations in Delhi NCR, Kolkata and Uttar Pradesh on Thursday against Delhi cabinet minister Raaj Kumar Anand. The searches were part of an investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Anand and other persons connected with the case. The ED initiated the investigation on the basis of the prosecution complaint filed by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) against Raaj Kumar Anand and other persons or entities connected with the case for commission of offence under various sections of the Customs Act, 1962. As per the said complaint, Raaj Kumar Anand made hawala payments to China and evaded customs duty amounting to about Rs seven crore on various imports. The court has taken cognizance of the offence vide order dated August 11. During the search operations, evidence relating to unaccounted business investments and hawala payments sent to China during 2023 was recovered from key employees of Raaj Kumar Anand. Cash worth Rs. 74 lakh and various incriminating documents and digital records were recovered and seized. Further investigations are in progress. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had earlier summoned AAP convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, on November 2, to question him in connection with its ongoing probe into the Delhi excise policy case. However, the Delhi CM demanded the Enforcement Directorate (ED) withdraw its "vague and motivated" notice summoning him for questioning, claiming that it was "illegal and politically motivated". "The said summons is not clear as to the capacity in which I am being summoned i.e. as a witness or a suspect in the above-mentioned case. Please recall the said summons, which is, to say the least, vague and motivated and I am advised, unsustainable in law," Kejriwal stated in his letter to Jogendar, Assistant Director, ED. He further alleged that the said summons appears to be politically motivated and issued for extraneous considerations. "Simultaneous to the summons, in the afternoon of 30.10.2023, BJP leaders started making statements that soon I would be summoned and arrested. By the evening of that day, I received your summons. It is thus apparent that the said summons was leaked to select BJP leaders to malign my image and reputation and has been issued at the behest of the ruling party at the Centre," his letter read. Kejriwal was earlier summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in April this year, in connection with the case. However, Kejriwal was not named as an accused in the first information report (FIR) filed by the CBI on August 17, last year. In February 2023, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was also arrested by the CBI for alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi's new excise policy. Meanwhile, the Rouse Avenue Court has extended the Judicial custody of Aam Aadmi Party leader and MP Sanjay Singh till November 10 in connection with the alleged liquor scam case. (ANI)
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