New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam. The arrest, which took place on Thursday evening, comes just weeks before the Lok Sabha elections.
Earlier in the day, an ED team had questioned Kejriwal at his residence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, after which he was detained. Kejriwal is the first serving Chief Minister and the third top leader of his party to be arrested in the Delhi liquor policy fraud case.
Despite the arrest, Atishi, a spokesperson for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), stated that Kejriwal would continue to serve as Delhi’s Chief Minister. Kejriwal is scheduled to appear in court on Friday after undergoing a medical checkup.
Reports suggest that the AAP will appeal Kejriwal’s arrest to the Supreme Court on Friday. The ED officers, who obtained a search order, also seized the phones of Kejriwal and his family.
In response to the arrest, Delhi Police, Rapid Action Force, and CRPF squads have been deployed outside Kejriwal’s residence. Kejriwal had previously ignored nine summonses from the ED related to the liquor policy scam and failed to appear before the agency on Monday in a money-laundering case related to anomalies in the Delhi Jal Board.
Kejriwal’s arrest comes less than a week after BRS leader K Kavitha was arrested in connection with the liquor policy scam. The ED had labeled Kejriwal a conspirator for the first time after Kavitha’s arrest.
The Delhi High Court had earlier in the day denied Kejriwal protection from arrest in the liquor policy issue but directed the ED to respond to his petition. The ED had accused Kejriwal of conspiring in the liquor policy fraud, alleging that he, along with other AAP leaders, colluded with Kavitha to influence the Delhi Excise policy in exchange for favors and kickbacks.
Kejriwal, a prominent opposition figure, has described the ED’s summons as a “political vendetta” by the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), stating that the BJP seeks to destroy his reputation for honesty.
