ED has released Amanatullah Khan, according to his fans.
Late night words had spread about his arrest and even top AAP leaders to express solidarity.
“I came for questioning at 11 am. Since then questioning was going on. Now I am free so going home,” Khan told news agency PTI after leaving the ED office at midnight.
Khan was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday for more than 13 hours in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Waqf Board under his chairmanship, officials said, reported PTI.
Khan said reports of his arrest were “rumours”. He has been asked to appear again.
On Thursday night, several AAP leaders, including party MP Sanjay Singh and Ministers Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj, and others turned up at Khan’s house in Okhla to stand by the family members. A large number of reporters had also gathered there.
While speaking to reporters outside Khan’s house, Atishi said they had received news about his arrest.
“We are getting the news that AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan ji has been arrested,” she said.
Atishi had said: “This is an attack on AAP before Lok Sabha polls. Why was Kejriwal arrested before the polls? Why has Amanatullah Khan been arrested after a non-bailable warrant was quashed? This is a conspiracy to break the AAP by scaring its MLAs. But we won’t be scared.”
Later in the night Khan’s supporters celebrated his return to home, said a resident.
Before entering the ED office in the morning, Khan had released a video with his supporters and told reporters that he followed the rules when he was the Waqf Board’s chairman, adding that he did everything after taking legal opinions and as per the new Act (for the board) that came into play in 2013.
The money laundering case against Khan stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR and three Delhi Police complaints.
According to the central probe agency, Khan had acquired “huge proceeds of crime” in cash through illegal recruitment of staff in the Delhi Waqf Board and invested those to purchase immovable assets in the name of his associates.
Meanwhile, the AAP had alleged that this was among those “false cases” which were being filed against its party leaders.
