Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was arrested for his alleged involvement in the Delhi excise policy ‘scam” case, on Friday said his life is dedicated to the country. In his first reaction after the arrest, the Delhi chief minister said, “My life is dedicated to the country, whether I am inside (jail) or outside.” His statement came soon after he appeared before a court in connection with the money laundering case linked to the excise policy.
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Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on March 21. He was arrested hours after ED officials reached his residence to conduct searches in the Delhi excise policy case. The Delhi CM had skipped nine summonses by the ED in the case.
The Enforcement Directorate produced Kejriwal before the Rouse Avenue court in New Delhi on Friday. During the hearing, the agency accused Kejriwal of being the “key conspirator and kingpin” of the alleged scam in the Delhi excise policy.
“Arvind Kejriwal was key conspirator in liquor scam along with other ministers and leaders of the AAP [Aam Aadmi Party],” the Enforcement Directorate told the court, as per news agency PTI. The financial crime-fighting agency alleged that Kejriwal acted as a “middleman” between ‘South group’ and the other accused in the liquor scam.
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“He demanded ₹100 crore from some accused from ‘South group’ for contesting the Punjab elections,” Additional Solicitor General (ASG) SV Raju, who was appearing for the agency, was quoted by PTI as saying.
The Enforcement Directorate sought 10-day custody of Arvind Kejriwal.
However, Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for Arvind Kejriwal, opposed the remand plea and submitted that the first thing the ED needs to show is the necessity to arrest. “Power of arrest and necessity of arrest are two different things,” Singhvi said.
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Singhvi further argued before the Special Judge that, according to the ED, Kejriwal was arrested for non-cooperation. “All necessary documents/ information are already in possession of ED and summoning him (Kejriwal) ‘in person’ is therefore a ploy to illegally arrest him and the present matter is a clear case of malice,” Singhvi added.
He said that there is no direct evidence against Arvind Kejriwal.
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Published: 22 Mar 2024, 03:55 PM IST
