“Mehmaan aaye hain” (Some guests have arrived). This is how AAP MP Sanjay Singh and his wife Anita were woken up by a member of their household at 6:45am on October 4. The former got up to greet the guests, curious who it could be at such an early hour, while his wife went back to bed wondering the same.
The ‘guests’ who had landed at the Rajya Sabha MP’s official residence in North Avenue were officials from the Enforcement Directorate.
Later that evening, after day-long questioning, Sanjay Singh was placed under arrest under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the ED’s money laundering probe into the 2021-22 Delhi Excise policy case.
A member of Sanjay Singh’s household told News18 on condition of anonymity that one of the first things ED officials did on arrival was to seize the phones of everyone present, including the one belonging to the lawmaker’s wife. And then the searches began.
Some officials searched the house, including the wardrobes, briefcases, shelves etc. They also had some questions for Anita Singh, including whether she had the contact numbers for Dinesh Arora, Amit Arora and Vijay Nair on her phone. While the ED officers went through her phone, they found a number against the name ‘Vijay’. It turned out to be the number of one of AAP’s poorest and most loyal supporters – a rickshaw-puller who is now deceased. Before leaving, the officials returned Anita Singh’s phone, but sealed and seized Sanjay Singh’s phone.
The first hint from ED officials that the AAP MP could be arrested came between 4:45pm and 5pm. Singh then prepared his family members for the same and recorded a video message that was later shared widely. He had to reportedly record the message twice as the first one was recorded on the phone of a domestic help which had escaped the notice of ED officers.
In fact, according to the staff member at the residence quoted above, officials told Singh: “You were expecting us since you had put up a poster”. They were referring to a poster purportedly put up by Sanjay Singh that said ‘Welcome, ED Officers’.
On Thursday morning, Sanjay Singh’s father Dinesh Singh, a retired schoolteacher, told News18 that he isn’t worried about his son’s arrest. “Such a ‘samajdhdar sashak’ (clever leader) has come, so the struggle should be long. For me, this is not a big issue. This is a big issue for those whose IQ and intelligence is weak. For a clean person, this is not a big issue. A positive result will come from the court,” he said.
Activist Raghu Thakur was among the first visitors at Singh’s 131, North Avenue residence the morning after his arrest. “I have known Sanjay Singh since childhood. Whether it is seven months, seven years or 70 years… This will have no impact on Sanjay. He will be always be the same person. He will not be adversely affected by this.”
Recalling a story from the Emergency days, Thakur said: “Emergency was imposed on June 25, 1977 and the next morning Jayaprakash ji (Jayaprakash Narayan) was arrested from Delhi. In response to reporters’ questions, he had remarked ‘vinash kaale, vipreet budhi’.”
“Unlike the other two (Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain) who have been arrested, Sanjay Singh is not part of the government. He is part of the party and a Member of Parliament’,” Thakur pointed out, alleging that the BJP-ruled central government wants to suppress Singh’s voice.
Asked whether the arrest will strengthen the Opposition’s INDIA bloc, Thakur said: “This has provided the fuel to the INDIA bloc. This has become the biggest issue – democracy vs dictatorship.”
INDIA alliance constituents, including Congress, TMC, Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena-UBT, CPI(M) and DMK, have spoken out in support of Sanjay Singh.
Shiv Sena-UBT’s Sanjay Raut also visited the arrested MP’s residence, saying he had come to express solidarity with the family of his “friend and brother”. He alleged that the Rajya Sabha member had been arrested on wrong allegations and told News18 that this was an attempt to weaken the INDIA bloc.
“However the INDIA bloc will not be weakened. Sanjay Singh is not just an MP of the Aam Aadmi Party. He is our friend, our brother. He is a fighter like me.”
Terming it a “fight against tyranny”, Raut claimed many more leaders will be arrested by 2024. “This has already become an issue. In West Bengal, there have been raids today. There have been raids on the leaders of the DMK; in Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Karnataka too. However, raids will not happen in Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.”
“Jitna bhi aap hamare upar ghav dalenge, hum utna mazbooth honge (The more you try to break us, the stronger we will become). We will not bend,” the Shiv Sena-UBT leader responded when asked about the impact of Sanjay Singh’s arrest on the INDIA bloc.