The Delhi Court on Thursday extended ED remand of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till April 1. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener was arrested by the ED on March 21 in an excise policy-linked money laundering case and subsequently remanded to the agency's custody till March 28.
ED while seeking remand stated that Data in one mobile phone (belonging to the arrestee's wife) has been extracted and is being analyzed. However, data from the other 4 digital devices seized during search at Arvind Kejriwal's premises on 21.03.2024 (belonging to the arrestee himself) are yet to be extracted as the arrestee has sought time to provide password/login credentials after consulting with his lawyers.
Earlier today, the CM sought permission to speak in the court and said, "I have been arrested. Nor has any case been filed against me... C Arvind was Manish Sisodia's PA. He said that Manish gave the papers to C Arvind in my house. Is this enough to arrest the CM? I want to thank the ED officials that the interrogation took place in a very good environment. This case has been going on for 2 years. I have been arrested even though I have not been found guilty in any court."
"No court has found me guilty... ED and CBI have filed reports running into thousands of pages."
She claimed that when she met the Delhi CM in the ED custody, Kejriwal told her that the central agency has conducted more than 250 raids in connection with the "so-called liquor scam" in the last two years but "not a single paisa" has been found in any of the raids so far. She said Arvind Kejriwal was a brave, patriotic and genuine person and his resolve was strong despite him being a diabetic. "Do they (Centre) want to ruin Delhi?" Sunita Kejriwal asked, adding that her husband was upset over the issue. She appealed to the people to pray for the Delhi CM's health and success.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is likely to be produced before a Delhi court on Thursday on the conclusion of his Enforcement Directorate custodial remand. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has Kejriwal's custody till March 28. The court remanded Kejriwal in the ED custody for six days after the agency pressed for his custodial interrogation for 10 days.
The ED has accused the AAP leader of "being involved in the entire conspiracy of the Delhi liquor scam, in drafting and implementation of the policy, for favouring and benefiting the quid pro receiving kickbacks and eventually using part of the proceeds of crime generated out of the scheduled offence in the election campaign for the Goa Assembly elections".
