The Special Enforcement Directorate Court at Rouse Avenue on Thursday sent Rajya Sabha member and senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh to five days custody until October 10 in the case related to the Delhi excise policy scam.
During the hearing, the probe agency had sought ten days remand, stating it wanted to confront the AAP MP with the digital evidence, including evidence from his phone, against him in the case.
After the court order, Singh said, “False and baseless allegations. We are not scared. We will fight back.”
While being brought to the courtroom, Singh said his arrest was “an act of injustice” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose party is “going to lose the next Lok Sabha elections.”
“This is Modi’s injustice. He will lose the election. He is losing the election,” he told the media.
Later, when the court asked him whether he wanted to say something, Singh claimed he is being treated unfairly.
The ED alleged that the money was delivered by Sarvesh, an employee of Dinesh Arora. “There is a direct link to the proceeds of crime,” the ED counsel told the court.
“A total of `2 crore transactions are there in two tranches... Dinesh’s CA confirmed this... A total of 239 places were searched. The investigation has revealed that `2 crore cash was given. A total of `3 crore was given,” the ED submitted.
Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur, appearing for Singh, opposed the ED’s plea for 10 days remand. Mathur argued, “This case investigation keeps going and will never end. Dinesh, who is a star witness, was made an accused earlier by both agencies, and later he turned approver in the case. His stand is changing. When the statement was not favourable to the ED, the agency arrested him. Now he has turned approver. He changes his statement, and the ED arrests me (Singh) on that statement.”
“There are separate agendas. Dinesh is in their hands for the last one and a half years. The statement was given earlier. Why is it being brought up now? Once you had the statement, you did not call me for an explanation. You want to humiliate me by arresting me (Singh),” Mathur said.
“I am not so unknown that he (Amit Arora) did not remember my name while giving earlier statements. Dinesh also did not remember my name. What happened suddenly that he gave all the statements against me? They are spreading lies, and this investigation is baseless. If I am guilty, give me the harshest punishment. All I want to say is that there cannot be a
different law for me. You are sitting on the chair of justice,” he said.
Singh is the third high-profile arrest of the AAP leader in the excise policy case. AAP communications in-charge Vijay Nair was arrested in September 2022. Then Deputy Chief Minister and AAP leader, Manish Sisodia was arrested in February 2023.