ED raids AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj in hospital construction 'scam'

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday raided multiple locations, including the residence of Aam Aadmi Party leader and former Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj, as part of a money laundering probe into the alleged hospital construction scam in the national capital.

“Raids are currently underway at 13 locations in Delhi-NCR,” a senior ED official told The Tribune.

The searches are linked to an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) filed on the basis of an FIR registered by the Delhi Police Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB). The FIR names former health ministers from the previous AAP-led Delhi government, private contractors and unidentified officials for their alleged role in irregularities.

According to officials, the case involves large-scale corruption, unjustified cost escalations, unauthorised construction and misappropriation of funds in health infrastructure projects under the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD).

The ED teams are examining Bharadwaj’s premises along with those of private contractors to trace suspected diversion and laundering of public funds earmarked for hospital construction.

The case was initially triggered by a complaint from the then Leader of Opposition and current Delhi Assembly Speaker Vijendra Gupta, flagging grave irregularities in hospital projects under the AAP-led government.

It is alleged that between 2018–19, 24 hospital projects worth Rs 5,590 crore were sanctioned but remain largely incomplete, with sharp and unexplained cost escalations.

Similarly, the Rs 1,125-crore ICU hospital project—covering seven pre-engineered facilities with 6,800 beds—remains only 50% complete despite an expenditure of Rs 800 crore and an original six-month deadline nearly three years ago.

Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) condemned the raids, calling them politically motivated and a diversionary tactic. The AAP said the action was aimed at diverting attention from the controversy surrounding Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s college degree.

Senior AAP leader and former deputy CM Manish Sisodia said Bharadwaj was not even a minister when the case was filed.

“The entire case is false. It is clear from Satyendar Jain’s case that false cases are being filed against AAP leaders,” he added.