The Enforcement Directorate (ED) apprehended Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday night in connection with a money laundering case linked to the state’s excise policy. This unprecedented arrest of a sitting chief minister came shortly after the Delhi High Court declined to shield the AAP leader from coercive measures by the agency.
The 55-year-old leader’s detention, occurring amidst the fervour of Lok Sabha election campaigning, incited strong reactions from his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Following the high court’s ruling, an ED team promptly conducted searches at the CM’s residence, culminating in his arrest.
Kejriwal is scheduled to appear before a court in Delhi on Friday, where the ED will seek his custody for further interrogation.As ED officials executed their operation inside the residence, additional Delhi Police personnel, along with Rapid Action Force (RAF) and CRPF teams, were deployed to maintain security.
The heightened security measures were enacted in anticipation of potential protests by AAP supporters, who swiftly congregated outside Kejriwal’s residence, denouncing the ED’s actions.Accusing the BJP of orchestrating a “huge conspiracy” ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the Aam Aadmi Party vehemently protested Kejriwal’s arrest. Earlier in the day, Kejriwal had appealed to the Supreme Court against the high court’s decision denying him relief in the matter.
The ED’s actions mirror the recent arrest of Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha in the same case, involving alleged corruption and money laundering related to Delhi’s excise policy for 2021–22. Kejriwal’s colleagues, Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, are already in judicial custody in connection with the case.
Kejriwal’s name has surfaced multiple times in the charge sheets filed by the ED, which allege that the accused collaborated with him to formulate the excise policy, resulting in undue benefits in exchange for kickbacks to the AAP.
