Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate after his house was searched and he was questioned this evening. Reportedly, ED was forced to arrest him as he was not cooperating with the investigation, and refused to go to the ED office for questioning.
The Delhi CM was insisting that ED question him in his residence only, after which he was arrested. Arvind Kejriwal was taken to ED office for further proceedings. This comes after Delhi High Court refused him interim protection from arrest as he ignored nine summons issued by ED in relation to the Delhi Excise Police scam case. He is also wanted for questioning in the Delhi Jal Board bribery case.
The team reportedly searched the residence for evidence related to the cases under probe. As per reports, several electronic devices, including as many as five phones, have been seized by the ED.
A team of the Enforcement Directorate reached his residence last evening, hours after the Delhi High Court refused to grant interim protection from arrest by ED. The ED officials reached the official residence of Arvind Kejriwal this evening reportedly with a search warrant.
The Delhi High Court on Thursday refused interim protection from coercive action to Kejriwal and said at this stage the court is not inclined to grant interim relief. The court was hearing a plea by Kejriwal seeking protection from coercive action against him in connection with the excise policy case.
During the hearing, Kejriwal’s lawyers stated that they have apprehension that the ED will arrest him and that he is ready to appear if he is given protection. But the High Court refused him interim protection from arrest. Kejriwal’s lawyers have already moved the Supreme Court challenging the High Court order.
After the arrest, they again moved the apex court, asking to quash the arrest. They have sought an urgent hearing by the Supreme Court tonight itself. ED on Sunday issued two fresh summons to Kejriwal in connection with two different cases – a liquor policy case and a case linked to the Delhi Jal Board.
This was the ninth summons to the Delhi Chief Minister in a money laundering probe related to irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 case, asking him to join the investigation on March 21. The fresh summons to the Delhi Chief Minister followed the eighth summons, which he had skipped on March 4.
According to the ED, the agency wants to record Kejriwal’s statement in the case on issues like the formulation of policy, meetings held before it was finalized, and allegations of bribery.
Meanwhile, the AAP said Kejriwal will continue to hold his post. “We have received news that ED has arrested Arvind Kejriwal. We have always said that Arvind Kejriwal will run the government from jail. He will remain the CM of Delhi. We have filed a case in the Supreme Court. Our lawyers are reaching SC. We will demand SC have an urgent hearing tonight,” AAP leader and Delhi minister Atishi said.
The BJP meanwhile, claimed that “truth has won.” “Arvind Kejriwal was continuously making excuses in the liquor policy scam since 2020-21 and the kind of political theatrics he was doing has been put to an end today. Today finally the truth has won and I believe that the conspiracy hatched by Arvind Kejriwal and his government to push the entire youth into alcoholism was bound to result in this. Truth had to prevail and Kejriwal had to be punished for his sins,” said Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva.
