Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s unit chief, Saurabh Bharadwaj, slammed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday, a day after the investigative agency carried out raids on multiple premises linked to him. The raids were part of an ongoing investigation into allegations of money laundering aimed at Bharadwaj.
While speaking at a press conference, Bharadwaj termed the case as false and accused Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena of conspiring to frame him.
During the press conference, Bharadwaj noted, "They had 43 questions for me, and I answered all of them. After recording my statement, they sent it somewhere. I do not know where they sent it, but later they came to me and asked me to remove a portion of my statement."
He further added, "This is how ED functions. They manipulate you psychologically, use coercion and threat. How can ED dictate what I say in my statement?"
Bharadwaj explained that the ED arrived at his residence at 7:15 am to search the house and later recorded his statement. He also noted that it was indirectly suggested to his family that he would be arrested if he refused to change his statement.
He alleged, "The lieutenant governor made sure the officers did not implement the directions. He hatched a conspiracy along with officers to frame me."
On his awareness of potential arrest, Bharadwaj said, "While I will be in jail, my lawyers will expose the truth."
He also accused the ED of seizing documents arbitrarily, stating, "ED stole papers from my house, pressured me to sign on statements written arbitrarily by them. The ED has not even mentioned this in the panchanama."
Bharadwaj highlighted that since becoming a minister on March 9, 2023, he had held meetings on March 22 and multiple subsequent occasions to address delays in hospital projects and had issued directions to the officials involved.
The central agency on Tuesday carried out raids at a total of 13 locations across Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR), including Bharadwaj's home and other premises linked to private contractors. The raids, made under the purview of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), were related to the ongoing probe into an alleged scam involving health infrastructure projects during AAP's tenure in Delhi.
