New Delhi:

Delhi’s Rajinder Nagar MLA and senior AAP leader Durgesh Pathak has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with Delhi’s now-defunct liquor policy interrogation in money laundering cases. The ED summoned him at 2pm today. Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s personal assistant Bibhav Kumar was also questioned.

Mr Pathak, who is a member of AAP’s political affairs committee, national executive and head of the organization building team, had earlier been summoned by the central agency in 2022.

The fresh summons comes at a time when AAP’s top leader, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia are jailed in connection with ED cases. AAP MP Sanjay Singh, who was also in jail, was recently released on bail.

The party has dropped charges against its leaders and accused the BJP-led central government of using investigative agencies for political purposes.

A few days ago, Delhi minister and AAP leader Atishi said that the education ministry planned to arrest her and three other AAP leaders – Saurabh Bharadwaj, Raghav Chadha and Durgesh Pathak.

She alleged that the BJP approached her through “someone very close to her” and claimed that she joined the party to “save my political career” or face arrest from the ED.

She said people close to her on behalf of the BJP said the ruling party was “determined to suppress everyone in the BJP”. “BJP’s plan is to arrest four more AAP leaders in the next two months. They will arrest me, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Durgesh Pathak and Raghav Chadha,” she said.

In response, the Delhi unit of the BJP issued a defamation notice to Ms Atish and demanded a public apology. “Atish has failed to provide evidence as to who contacted her, how and when. AAP is going through a crisis in Delhi and that is why they are making such baseless accusations out of frustration. But we She will not be allowed to get away with it,” Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva told the media.

The liquor policy introduced by the Delhi government in 2021 and withdrawn the following year was said to have provided benefits to liquor license holders. On the advice of Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, the CBI started investigation into the allegations of irregularities. The Department of Education is investigating the source of funding for the case.