The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday conducted searches at the premises of Delhi Social Welfare Minister Raaj Kumar Anand and others in connection with an alleged money laundering case.

The searches began in the early hours of Thursday at several locations linked to Anand, sources said.

ED officials were escorted by Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) personnel to the places where they carried out the searches. They also conducted searches at the minister’s official residence in the Civil Lines area of the national capital.

Anand also holds the social welfare and SC/ST welfare portfolios among others in Delhi’s cabinet as a legislator representing the Patel Nagar assembly constituency.

The ED probe is said to be based on a Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) case against the Aam Aadmi Party leader.

These searches came close on the heels of ED summons to Arvind Kejriwal. However, the Delhi chief minister did appear before the investigating officer (IO) here. He wrote to the Central probe agency asking for withdrawal of the summons, calling the same unsustainable in law.

Reacting sharply to the raids at Delhi minister’s premises, Aam Aadmi Party leader Saurabh Bhardwaj said it was Raaj Kumar Anand’s fault that he was an AAP MLA and a minister from the party.

Taking a dig at the Centre, he said such agencies required a search warrant from the court if someone’s house had to be searched even during the British era.

Bhardwaj further said that even the British believed if they gave police or such agencies the right to enter and search someone’s house, they would unleash an atmosphere of terror in society.

He alleged that the ED nowadays does not require any court warrant, its officers decide on their own who they should raid, and the raids are only being conducted at premises of the opposition leaders, Bhardwaj added.

Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai also questioned the ED raids at AAP minister’s place and the agency’s summons to AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal.

Addressing a press conference, he said the ‘nation wants to know if it is part of a political conspiracy to finish AAP. The minister accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of misusing the Central agencies.

BJP is scared, Rai said, adding if the Opposition parties come together, it would become difficult for the BJP to win the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.