ED raids Delhi minister Raaj Kumar Anand's premises

Ahead of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's questioning by the central agency, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is conducting searches at premises linked to Delhi Cabinet Minister Raaj Kumar Anand in connection with a money laundering case. Apart from the minister's residence in the Civil Lines area, ED raids are underway at nine premises linked to him. The ED search teams are escorted by a team of the CRPF.

Anand, 57, is the minister for social welfare and SC/ST welfare among others in the Arvind Kejriwal-led government. He is an MLA from Patel Nagar. After the resignations of Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain, the education and health ministries were allocated to Labour Minister Raaj Kumar Anand. However, later on, the health portfolio was transferred to Saurabh Bharadwaj, and education was assigned to Atishi.

It is alleged that the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the AAP. The policy was subsequently scrapped and the Delhi lieutenant governor recommended a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in its implementation. Following this, the ED registered a case under the PMLA.