ED raid fabricated political op, says AAP’s Bharadwaj

AAP Delhi chief Saurabh Bharadwaj on Wednesday slammed the Enforcement Directorate (ED), a day after the probe agency carried out raids on multiple premises linked to him calling it a fabricated political operation.

Addressing a press conference, he said the ED team arrived at his residence around 7:15 am. They searched the house and recorded his statement.

“They had 43 questions for me, and I answered all of them. After recording my statement, they sent it somewhere. I do not know where they sent it, but later they came to me and asked me to remove a portion of my statement,” Bharadwaj alleged.

“ED officers pressured me to sign statements doctored to suit their narrative, even discarding my original testimony and replacing it with their pre-written script,” the AAP leader added.

Accusing Delhi L-G VK Saxena of hatching a conspiracy against him, the AAP leader said: “I also dictated a full paragraph to the ED that this entire matter is fabricated and false, and that the L-G has hatched a criminal conspiracy to frame me. I told them I have evidence — audio and video recordings, documentary proof — of how officers were instructed and how they tried to trap me. I told them I even have evidence of what happened in those meetings. They asked me to hand it over, but I said I will submit it to the court at the appropriate stage, and that was recorded.”

He also alleged that the seized documents were tampered with. “I want to submit my printer for forensic examination. It was connected to the Wi-Fi and the statements were printed through it. Its memory still contains print logs. My entire statement is there. The ED also stole documents from my house. They took an affidavit filed in the Delhi High Court. When they realised it was in my favour — showing that I had done everything possible as a minister — they quietly removed it from the seizure memo,” he said.

“First, they made a seizure memo, with 79 pages, and took my and witnesses’ signatures. That memo included the affidavit. Later, they prepared another memo, removed the affidavit, took the signatures again and kept the affidavit copy in their bag. This is how they operate,” the AAP leader added.

Bharadwaj said: “I have evidence against the L-G. If I am arrested in the coming days, my lawyers will hold press conferences and release evidence on social media showing how he hatched a criminal conspiracy against me.”