Hospital ‘scam’: ED questioned me till late at night, ‘fabricated’ my statements, says Bharadwaj

Aam Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi president Saurabh Bharadwaj on Friday alleged that the Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned him until 2 a.m. on Wednesday, describing it as “inhuman” and “contrary” to a Supreme Court directive.

The ED on Tuesday conducted raids at 13 locations in and around the Capital, including the residence of Mr. Bharadwaj, a former Delhi Health Minister, as part of its probe into the alleged cost escalations and corruption in the construction of hospitals during the AAP government’s term.

“How can ED question me till 2 a.m. when the Hon’ble SC has barred it from doing this inhuman practice? Even an ED circular bars questioning till late hours at night,” he said in a post on X.

Responding to the allegations, an ED official said Mr. Bharadwaj’s statement was contradicting his earlier statement to the media, in which he claimed the search operation concluded by 9 p.m. on Tuesday and he had to wait till 2 a.m. on Wednesday to sign documents.

The AAP Delhi chief also alleged that his original statement was “destroyed” and “replaced” with a fabricated version, including a “forged” panchnama signed by the Central probe agency’s officials and two employees of a government bank.

Mr. Bharadwaj stated that he had flagged the “violation of norms” by an Assistant Director of the ED to the Director of the ED via e-mail, but “no action” was taken.

“The ED deleted certain portions of my statement. They destroyed the original panchnama, which bore my signature, and replaced it with a fabricated one. The so-called independent witnesses, two employees from a government bank brought in by the ED, were made to sign this false panchnama again,” Mr. Bharadwaj said at a press conference.

“Yesterday, we sent a colleague to the ED office with my written complaint. Shockingly, the ED refused to accept it and asked us to send it by speed post,”  he added.