A city court on Thursday sent senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh to five-day custody of the Enforcement Directorate in the Delhi Excise policy case even as the anti-money laundering agency alleged that an accused businessman Dinesh Arora had given Rs two crore cash at the Rajya Sabha MP's residence in two tranches.

Singh strongly rebutted the claim. He was arrested by the ED on Wednesday in connection with its money laundering probe linked to the 2021-22 Delhi Excise policy case and was the second high profile leader after Manish Sisodia, a former deputy chief minister, to be held in this case, in a big jolt to Delhi's ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Special Judge M K Nagpal granted the ED five-day custody of Singh to enable the central probe agency to interrogate him.

The ED had sought ten-day custody of Singh, who has been a vocal voice of the AAP both inside and outside Parliament and has been targeting the BJP and Modi government over a range of issues including matters relating to the Adani group.

“Investigation by ED has revealed that he (Dinesh Arora) has given Rs two crore cash at Sanjay Singh's house on two occasions (Rs one crore at each time),” the ED alleged in its remand application. The period when the cash was allegedly given was between August 2021 and April 2022.

The ED also claimed that Singh has been involved in the conspiracy of extending favours to private persons in the Excise policy formulation even before the conspiracy relating to the now scrapped 2021-22 Excise policy.

The arrest of Singh had come a day after a city court allowed Dinesh Arora, the Delhi-based businessman, and Raghav Magunta, son of YSR Congress Party Lok Sabha MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, to turn approver in the money laundering case linked to the excise policy.

Senior AAP leader and Delhi minister Atishi claimed that over 500 officers of the ED and CBI conducted raids at several places linked to the AAP leaders in the last 15 months but "haven't found a single evidence" against them.

While being brought to the courtroom, Singh said his arrest was “an act of injustice” by Prime Minister Narendra Modi whose party was “going to lose the next Lok Sabha elections”.

"This is Modiji's injustice. He will lose election, he is losing election," Singh told reporters.

Later, when the court asked him whether he wanted to say something, Singh claimed he was being treated unfairly.

“Sir, Amit Arora(accused businessman) gave tens of statements, Dinesh Arora gave several statements, but they did not remember my name. I'm not that unknown that they forgot my name. Now they have suddenly remembered… There's no separate law. I was not summoned even once. Why different law for me?” the AAP leader said rebutting the ED's claim he received Rs 2 crore from Dinesh Arora.

During the hearing, the ED sought Singh's custody saying several people were yet to be examined and confronted with him. The agency said it also wanted to confront Singh with data extracted from his phone.

The ED counsel alleged that Singh received Rs 2 crore in two tranches.

“The money was delivered to his(Singh) residence. Dinesh Arora cross-checked with him also and he confirmed it… Investigation has revealed that two crore cash was given....," the counsel said.

When the agency said it wanted to confront Singh with digital evidence extracted from his mobile phone, the court told its counsel it can be done even without taking him into custody.

“Why do you want to confront him with the phone? You can extract the data even otherwise,” the judge said. The ED was represented by Zoheb Hossain and Naveen Kumar Matta.

Senior advocate Mohit Mathur, representing Singh, opposed the ED's application seeking his remand, saying the agency's witness Dinesh Arora was not trustworthy.

“He was an accused first, then in a quid pro quo he turned witness. His stand is changing. He is an accused, turns approver, gives statement; the statement is not favourable to ED, ED arrests him and he turns approver in ED case. He changes statement and ED arrests me on that statement." Mathur accused the ED of humiliating Singh by arresting him.

“There are separate agenda. DA (Dinesh Arora) is in their hands for the last one- and-a-half years. The statement was given earlier. Why it is being brought up now. Once you had the statement (of Arora), you did not call me for explanation. You want to humiliate me by arresting me,” he said.

Addressing a press conference, Atishi dared the Centre to make public any evidence it has against AAP leaders.

"They raided Manish Sisodia's residence, offices and several other places but they couldn't find evidence of corruption of even a single penny. And now, Sanjay Singh has been targeted," she said.

"The ED officers raided every inch of Sanjay Singh's residence but couldn't find anything. They arrested him because he constantly raised issues of the Centre's corruption," she added.

"I want to challenge the BJP that if they have found any evidence against Sanjay Singh, they should make it public or they should quit politics. They can send their officers anywhere where Sanjay Singh has been and I can vouch that they will not find anything against him." AAP workers also held a massive protest outside their Rouse Avenue Road office, clogging the entire stretch for hours, in support of their demand for release of Sanjay Singh.

MPs and MLAs from the Delhi BJP along with other party leaders on the other hand held a prayer meeting at Mahatma Gandhi's memorial Rajghat for the "liberation" of people from a "corrupt" AAP government in the city.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva said the struggle for liberation of the people from the "corrupt" Arvind Kejriwal government will continue.

He alleged Kejriwal was the "kingpin" of the alleged liquor scam in Delhi.

Mahatma Gandhi used to say alcohol destroys both the body and the soul, Sachdeva said.

"Kejriwal has not only destroyed the soul but also the entire Aam Aadmi Party," he said, hitting out at the AAP National Convener