NEW DELHI: A city court on Monday granted the Enforcement Directorate (ED) three days’ custody of the three people allegedly associated with AAP assembly member Amanatullah Khan, in a case linked to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Waqf Board recruitment.
Granting the probing agency’s application for further interrogation of the accused individuals in relation to the case, Special Judge Arvind Kumar sent three accused, Zeeshan Haider, Daud Nasir, and Jawed Immam Siddiqui to the agency’s custody.
The application was opposed by Advocate Nitesh Rana, appearing for the accused, who claimed that the grounds for their arrest were illegal. On Saturday, the court sent the three accused to judicial custody, saying the arguments made by the ED in their application seeking a 14-day custody of the accused would take longer time to consider.
In the previous hearing, following the defense counsel advocate’s accusations of “illegal detention”, the judge had sent the accused to judicial custody until November 12. The defense counsel had claimed that the probing agency presented his clients after nearly 30 hours of detention, exceeding the 24-hour limit prescribed by the law and that his client had not dealt with the proceeds of the crime.
The court had noted that the arguments were likely to take a longer period of time to consider. The case involves allegations against AAP legislator Amanatullah Khan, the Delhi Waqf Board chairman, for alleged illegal recruitment of 32 people in violation of norms and government guidelines.
Last month, the ED had raided the premises of Khan, an AAP lawmaker from the Okhla constituency. According to the ED, “Searches were conducted in the case related to illegal recruitment of staff in Delhi Waqf Board and illegal personal gains by way of unfairly leasing out of Waqf Board properties during the chairmanship of the board by Amanatullah Khan during 2018-2022.”