Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Sent To ED Custody Till March 28 ; AAP To Gherao Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Residence On March 26 ;ED Says Key Conspirator

Picture : ANI

A court in Delhi has sent Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to the Enforcement Directorate’s custody till March 28, a day after his arrest in the excise policy-linked money laundering case.

Special Judge Kaveri Baweja at the Rouse Avenue court said Kejriwal will be produced before the court on March 28 at 2 pm. The court passed the order on the Enforcement Directorate’s application seeking a 10-day custody in the case.

The Aam Aadmi Party will not celebrate Holi this year and will gherao the prime minister’s residence on March 26 to register its protest against Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate, the party’s Delhi convenor Gopal Rai said on Friday.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Rai alleged that MLAs and councillors of the Aam Aadmi Party were stopped from meeting the family members of the Delhi chief minister, who was arrested by the ED in an excise policy-linked money-laundering case on Thursday.

“Workers and leaders were detained throughout the day. The whole country is sad and angered by Kejriwal’s arrest. At 10 am on Saturday, all AAP MLAs, councillors, office-bearers, INDIA bloc representatives will take a pledge to save democracy. We will gather at the Shaheedi Park on Saturday, the martyrdrom day of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev,” the Delhi minister said.

He added that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann will also attend the programme.

“On March 24, effigies of Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be burnt in all Assembly constituencies. On the day of Holi on March 25, we will not organise any programme and on March 26, we will gherao the prime minister’s residence,” Rai said.

He said a joint movement against the AAP national convenor’s arrest will be announced soon after discussions among the INDIA bloc constituents.

Meanwhile , he Enforcement Directorate said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was a “key conspirator” in the liquor scam case along with other ministers and AAP leaders, as it sought his 10-day custody from a court here.

The ED told Special Judge Kaveri Baweja at the Rouse Avenue court that Kejriwal received several crores of rupees as kickbacks from the ‘South group’ for formulating and implementing Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22.

He demanded Rs 100 crore from some accused from ‘South group’ for contesting the Punjab elections, Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, who is appearing for the agency, told the court. The law officer said the money trail showed that Rs 45 crore “kickback” used in Goa elections came from four hawala routes.

He said the statements of the accused and witnesses have been corroborated by Call Detail Records (CDR). The AAP chief was produced before in the court around 2 pm amid tight security on and around the court premises. “We have given an application for 10 days’ remand,” ASG Raju told the court.