From Manish Sisodia to Satyendar Jain - List of AAP leaders who were arrested

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia insisted on Sunday that more and more party leaders may find themselves implicated in ‘false’ cases as the AAP grows. And while one cannot confirm the veracity of this claim without the conclusion of several ongoing CBI and ED probes, there are indeed a growing number of AAP lawmakers that have found themselves in official crosshairs recently.  

"Conspiracies are being hatched by the CBI and ED and false cases being lodged against our party leaders because PM Narendra Modi is afraid of CM Arvind Kejriwal's rising popularity. As AAP grows further, BJP will continue to slap false cases on us. We are not afraid of the CBI, ED and their false cases," Sisodia said on Sunday morning as he went to the CBI office for questioning. 

Eight hours later, he was arrested in connection with the Delhi excise policy ‘scam’ with officials alleging that the AAP leader was not cooperating with the investigation and avoiding clarifications on crucial points sought by them.

Also read: CBI arrests Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia - What are the charges against him?

Since the party came to power in 2015, more than a dozen leaders from Delhi have been arrested. 

Prior to Sisodia, AAP Minister Satyender Jain had been arrested by the ED in May last year in another money laundering case linked to alleged hawala dealings. The 58-year-old has also been questioned in connection with the excise policy 'scam' case.

Meanwhile, AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan is currently out on bail for a case connected to the illegal recruitments and financial misappropriation as the chairman of the Delhi Waqf Board. In November last year a Delhi court had said that there was sufficient evidence to proceed against the Okhla lawmaker.

The list of arrested or jailed AAP leaders also includes lawmakers from Punjab. Earlier this week the state Vigilance Bureau had arrested the ruling party's Bathinda Rural MLA Amit Rattan Kotfatta in a bribery case. He is the second party leader to be nabbed on graft charges following former health minister Vijay Singla's arrest last year.

(With inputs from agencies)