CBI Detains Delhi CM Kejriwal for Further Questioning in Money Laundering Case
New Delhi, 26th June 2024: Sunita Kejriwal took to X on Wednesday to express her discontent with the continuous attempts to imprison her husband, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. “On 20 June, Arvind Kejriwal received bail, but the ED swiftly obtained a stay. The following day, the CBI accused and arrested him. The entire system is working to keep him jailed. This is not law; this is a dictatorship, this is an Emergency,” she stated.
On Wednesday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal concerning the excise policy scam case. The Rouse Avenue Court granted the CBI’s request to detain Kejriwal for further questioning about his alleged involvement in the money laundering investigation. Concurrently, Kejriwal retracted his petition from the Supreme Court, which contested the Delhi High Court’s interim suspension of bail granted by a lower court in the same matter.
According to Times Now sources, the CBI has found substantial evidence linking senior members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), including close aides of Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, to a massive corruption scandal. The investigation, spanning over two years, has unearthed detailed information about illicit transactions and influence-peddling supposedly coordinated from a luxury five-star hotel in South Delhi.
CBI sources indicated that a group referred to as the “South Group” used the convention centre of a notable South Delhi hotel for their operations. From March 14-17, 2021, this group allegedly engaged in illegal activities, including copying sensitive government documents related to the excise policy for the fiscal year 2021-22.
https://x.com/KejriwalSunita/status/1805900689757114593
Electronic evidence recovered by the CBI includes incriminating communications among South Group members discussing policy adjustments directly affecting the excise policy. Notably, a draft note retrieved from Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s computer, dated March 15, 2021, initially proposed a 5% profit margin for liquor wholesalers. The final version, presented to Sisodia’s Secretary three days later, showed an increased profit margin of 12%, a change reportedly suggested by South Group members during their hotel stay.
“A senior CBI official, speaking anonymously, revealed that the number of pages allegedly copied by South Group members exactly matches the draft report handed over by Sisodia to his Secretary,” This discovery has cast serious doubts on the integrity of the policy-making process within the AAP government.
The investigation has also implicated Vijay Nair, a close associate of both Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, in arranging meetings between South Group members and key AAP officials. Nair’s involvement in the scandal, particularly his alleged influence over policy decisions, is under intense scrutiny as investigators examine seized electronic devices and communications.
