Who is Amanatullah Khan, the AAP MLA arrested by ED in Delhi Waqf Board case?

On Monday, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan was apprehended by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after a raid that was undertaken at his residence in Delhi's Okhla. The arrest was carried out after Khan was inquired by the agency for six hours under an ongoing investigation.

Earlier, Khan had taken to X (formerly Twitter) to inform his followers that ED officials had arrived at his house to arrest him. "ED people have just arrived at my house to arrest me," he posted.

?In a video recorded by himself, Khan communicated his frustration over what he described as continuous harassment by the investigative agency in past two years.?

"It is seven in the morning, and the ED has come to arrest me in the name of a search warrant. My mother-in-law has cancer, and she is currently at my home. I have written to them, and I have also replied to each of their notices. These people have been harassing me continuously for the last two years. Their only aim is to break our party. We are not going to bow down, and we are not going to break," Khan said.

Who is Amanatullah Khan?

Born in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, Amanatullah Khan, is a politician belonging to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). He currently represents Okhla constituency as its MLA in the Delhi Legislative Assembly. He caught the attention of public for the first time during the 2015 Delhi elections wherein he pipped Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) candidate Braham Singh by a considerable lead of over 60,000 votes.

Prior to the 2015 win, Khan had also contested the 2013 Delhi election on a Lok Jan Shakti Party ticket, but he didn't get elected then.?In his political line of work, Khan found himself at the centre of controversies on numerous occasions and has been frequently targeted by opposition parties.

In a recent case, a BJP leader filed a complaint against him, blaming him for inciting people during protests that were held against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA).

Additionally, several AAP leaders had purportedly written to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, expecting Khan’s expulsion from the party.?Moreover, Khan's encounters with the law are not a newfound phenomenon.

In July 2016, he was arrested by the Delhi Police after a woman accused him of threatening her life when she visited his house to complain about power cuts.?Later that year, he was again arrested, this time following a complaint of sexual harassment filed by his brother-in-law’s wife.

In May 2017, Khan was suspended from AAP after he attacked Kumar Vishwas, a fellow party member, who had resigned from the party's political affairs committee to make way for Vishwas.

Another significant controversy emerged in February 2018 when a case was registered against Khan and legislator Prakash Jarwal for allegedly assaulting Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash.

Despite these controversies, Khan remained a popular figure in his constituency. In the 2020 Delhi elections, he was once again fielded by AAP from Okhla and won by an even larger margin, securing over 71,000 votes more than his BJP rival Braham Singh.?

The Okhla constituency, which includes the Shaheen Bagh area—known as the epicentre of anti-CAA protests—played a significant role in the electoral campaign.

Amanatullah Khan’s involvement in the Delhi Waqf Board case

According to a report by ANI, Amanatullah Khan’s arrest on Monday by the Enforcement Directorate is about the ongoing probe into purported irregularities in appointments and property leasing by the Delhi Waqf Board.

ED had earlier filed a complaint against Khan for failing to appear before them for questioning in this case.? It?has accused Khan of escalating his involvement from being a witness to becoming an accused by filing an anticipatory bail plea.

AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan says ED team has reached his house to arrest him
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The agency’s lawyer stated that Khan’s failure to act jointly ED with has blocked the progress of inquiry.

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A charge sheet has already been filed against four individuals and one firm, alleging that Waqf properties worth ?100 crore were leased out illegally. Additionally, it has been claimed that 32 contractual employees were appointed to the Delhi Waqf Board under Khan’s chairmanship, which violates established rules.

Earlier, Khan had also been questioned by the Anti-Corruption Bureau in connection with the Delhi Waqf Board case.

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