New Delhi, April 17: The CBI on Thursday conducted searches at the premises of former AAP MLA and party's Gujarat polls co-incharge Durgesh Pathak after registering an FIR against him for allegedly receiving foreign donations for his party in contravention of FCRA norms, officials said. Besides Pathak, the agency booked another office bearer of the party Kapil Bhardwaj in the case. The FIR was registered on a complaint from the Ministry of Home Affairs which had alleged that the party had received foreign donations in contravention of the provisions of Foreign Contribution (Regulations) Act (FCRA) 2010 (as amended in 2020).

The CBI FIR alleged that receipt of contributions from foreigners by a political party is prohibited under section 3 of the FCRA Act 2010 and section 29B of the Representation of the People Act 1951. Sources said during the course of investigation, the top brass of the party may be asked to join investigations and explain the alleged anomalies in the records. Senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders, including Pathak, slammed the government for the CBI action, saying it is a "conspiracy born out of fear" and an effort to "intimidate" him due to his growing political activity in Gujarat. Conspiracy Born out of Fear: AAP on CBI Action Against Durgesh Pathak.

"A team of five-six CBI officers came to my house and searched every corner of my two-room premises for around three-four hours. They did not tell me why they had come or for which case. They showed me a search warrant, and I welcomed them. They searched everything but couldn't find anything," Pathak said later at a press conference. "I think they came to scare me as I have started working in Gujarat for the AAP. They came so that nobody joins us in Gujarat ... They arrested Sanjay Singh after the AAP got five MLAs in Gujarat and emerged as a good alternative in the state," he added.

According to the FIR, the AAP had set a body "AAP Overseas India" with volunteers in USA, Canada, Australia etc. to mobilise foreign funds for the party in India. "During a fund raising event organised by MP in Canada in 2016, an e-mail conversation took place between Aniket Saxsena (Coordinator of MP Overseas India) and Kumar Vishwas, then Convenor of MP Overseas India). This conversation revealed that Durgesh Pathak and Kapil Bhardwaj had asked Aniket to transfer the donation of USD 29,000, directly to Durgesh Pathak and Kapil Bhardwaj through Bhagwant Toor," the FIR alleged.

The Home Ministry sent the matter to the CBI on the basis of findings of the ED, which had found that the party had received Rs 1.08 crore of donation from 155 persons residing abroad on 404 occasions using 55 passport numbers. The ED alleged that there are multiple donors who have used the same passport for donations. "FCRA donations worth Rs. 51.15 lakh was received by the AAP from 19 Canadian nationals, however their nationality have been concealed by AAP in the records. One Canadian citizen Karnail Singh Sidhu has directly donated Rs 20,000 to AAP through AAP's online portal in 2016," the CBI FIR has alleged. CBI Searches at Residence of Ex-AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak.

The agency has alleged that 71 donors residing abroad have used 21 mobile numbers for making donations of Rs. 99.90 lakh on 256 occasions to the party while 75 donors have used 15 credit cards for making donations worth Rs. 19.92 lakh on 148 occasions. "The AAP has claimed that 201 persons residing abroad had donated Rs. 2.65 crore using 51 e-mail IDs on 639 occasions," the FIR alleged. The agency has alleged that "irregularity have been done deliberately by AAP", with an intention to conceal identity and nationality of the real donors. The CBI also alleged that Pathak attended a fund raising event on November 22, 15 in Canada.

A handwritten raw data sheet containing real names of Canadian donors was sent by AAP volunteer to AAP overseas through e-mail. "However, the AAP deliberately concealed their names in its official records and manipulated its records," the FIR alleged. At an event in Toronto in February 2016, a sum of USD 11786 was claimed to have been collected and, after deducting the expenditure of USD 3821, the amount of USD 7965 was allegedly sent to AAP in its IDBI account by using 11 Canadian passports whereas the amount was claimed to have been collected from more than 200 persons, the FIR alleged.

Reacting to the raids, AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh said, "The BJP's attempts to finish off the AAP have begun once again. They have jailed our leader, arrested our top leadership, and now our PAC member and Gujarat co-incharge Durgesh Pathak has been raided by the CBI. The only reason is that AAP is gaining ground in Gujarat." Singh claimed that as soon as Pathak began holding meetings in Gujarat to strengthen the party's base, the BJP responded by sending the central agency after him. Echoing similar sentiments, senior AAP leader and former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said on X, "CBI raid at Durgesh Pathak's house as soon as he got responsibility for Gujarat elections 2027! This is not a coincidence, this is a conspiracy born out of fear."

Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Atishi also condemned the raid. Pathak, who won the Rajinder Nagar Assembly seat in 2022, lost to BJP's Umang Bajaj in the 2025 elections. He was also AAP's in-charge for Goa during the 2022 Assembly elections. The AAP had secured five seats and a 14 per cent vote share in the 2022 Gujarat Assembly polls, and has since been looking to expand its footprint in the state.