Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal arrested
Arvind KejriwalAFP file photo
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the central investigation agency of India. On Thursday night, ED officials went to the Chief Minister’s house in Delhi and seized his mobile phone for questioning. A couple of hours later they informed about the arrest of Kejriwal.
Hours after the Delhi High Court today refused to grant immunity from arrest to the Delhi Chief Minister in an excise case, an ED team barged into his residence. There he was interrogated by ED officials under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
NDTV said the ED team consists of 12 officials. They have a search warrant at Kejriwal’s residence. They seized the mobile phones of the Aam Aadmi Party chief and his family members. ED officials are also interrogating Kejriwal inside the residence. Delhi Police, Rapid Action Force personnel as well as CRPF personnel have been deployed outside the residence. No one from outside is allowed to enter the house.
Delhi Chief Minister Kejriwal arrested
Delhi Minister Saurabh Bhardwaj said, “The way the police went to the Delhi Chief Minister’s house and did not allow anyone to enter, it seems that there is a major operation there.”
The Aam Aadmi Party (UP) chief avoided nine ED summons in the case. He also did not appear in a separate summons in a money laundering case related to alleged irregularities in the Delhi Jal Board issued by the ED last Monday.
Kejriwal was arrested by the ED within a week of the arrest of Telangana BRS leader K Kavita in the excise case. After Kavita’s arrest, Kejriwal was named as a conspirator in the case for the first time.
The ED issued the first summons to Kejriwal in October last year and directed him to appear on November 2. Since then, it was speculated that the Delhi Chief Minister might be arrested by the ED.
ED arrested Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in this case last February. Aam Aadmi Party Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh was taken into custody last October.
Chief Minister Kejriwal
Kejriwal has repeatedly claimed that the ED, an agency controlled by the BJP government, wants to suppress the Aam Aadmi Party by arresting him. Several other opposition parties have also accused the BJP of using the ED for its own interests. They claim that BJP is using this organization against the leaders. Lok Sabha elections on April 10. Before this, such work is being done to arrest the leaders.
Kejriwal has been saying for some time that the BJP government will arrest him before the Lok Sabha polls. He is repeatedly summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in excise cases.
On Thursday morning, the Delhi High Court disqualified Kejriwal from providing protection in the liquor policy case. ED asked to reply in response to this application. The next date of hearing is scheduled for April 22.
An ED press release last Sunday called Kejriwal a conspirator in the alleged Madniti scam. It further said that the ED’s investigation revealed that Kavitha along with others AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia conspired to get benefits in formulation and implementation of Delhi’s excise policy. Kavita gave AAP leaders Rs. 100 crores to get this benefit.
