New Delhi: In a significant development in the alleged classroom construction scam in Delhi, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday announced the seizure of over 300 bank passbooks linked to suspected “mule” accounts opened in the names of labourers to allegedly divert government funds. The ED also recovered original government files and forged documents from multiple locations across Delhi.
The federal agency carried out searches at 37 sites on June 18 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), targeting individuals and entities connected to the previous AAP-led government.
The case stems from an FIR registered by the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) on April 30 against senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, including former ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain. The FIR, originally prompted by complaints dating back to 2019 and later flagged by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), alleges large-scale financial irregularities in the construction of over 12,000 additional classrooms by the Delhi Public Works Department (PWD) between 2015 and 2023.
According to the ED, the scale of the alleged misappropriation exceeds ₹2,000 crore. Despite an initial sanctioned requirement of just 2,405 classrooms, the number ballooned to 12,748 without proper approvals, leading to massive cost escalations. The agency claimed that cost overruns of up to 49% were recorded during project execution.
The searches also revealed:
- 322 bank passbooks linked to mule accounts used to reroute funds.
- Original files and rubber stamps belonging to GNCTD and PWD officials.
- Forged letterheads and fake procurement bills generated through shell companies and dummy firms.
- Payments made to entities lacking operational infrastructure or documentation.
The ED also pointed to arbitrary upgrades in construction specifications and alleged duplicate, inflated billing under contracts executed by firms such as Babbar and Babbar Associates.
AAP, in its defense, slammed the raids as a “desperate” and “politically motivated” tactic by the BJP-led Centre to distract from its governance failures. AAP leader Atishi had earlier stated that over 200 false cases had been filed against AAP members over the past decade, with no convictions or financial recovery to date.
Both Sisodia and Jain have already been questioned by the ACB in connection with the case.
Also Read: Classroom Construction Scam: Manish Sisodia Appears Before ACB in ₹2,000-Crore Graft Probe
The ACB had earlier estimated that the total cost of the classroom project had reached ₹2,892 crore — far exceeding the standard per-classroom cost of ₹5 lakh, with expenses averaging nearly ₹25 lakh per room. BJP leaders, including Kapil Mishra and Harish Khurana, had filed complaints in 2019 alleging favoritism and irregularities in the awarding of contracts to firms allegedly close to the AAP.
