NEW DELHI, March 22 -- Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was sent to six-day Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody by a Delhi court in connection with the liquor policy linked money laundering case.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo will remain in custody of the probe agency till March 28. He will be produced before the court at 2 pm on March 28. He was arrested amid high-drama from his residence last night by a team of ED officials who questioned him for nearly two hours.

Earlier on Friday, seeking 10-day custody of Arvind Kejriwal, the Enforcement Directorate told the court that Delhi Chief Minister was the "kingpin of the liquor policy scam'' even as the AAP supremo argued that there was no "direct evidence" linking him to the case.

In his first reaction while being taken to the court, Delhi CM Kejriwal said in Hindi: "My life is dedicated to the country. I will keep on serving the nation even if I am behind bars.'' He was responding to a question by reporters while he was being taken to the court by the ED.

A day after his arrest, Kejriwal was produced in the trial court shortly after he withdrew from the Supreme Court his plea against his arrest by the probe agency in the excise policy-linked money laundering case.

During the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener's remand hearing, 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 the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22.

Appearing for the ED, Additional Solicitor General ASV Raju said Arvind Kejriwal was the key conspirator and had demanded Rs 100 crore from some accused from the 'South Group' for contesting the Punjab elections.

The law officer told the court that the money trail showed that Rs 45 crore "kickback" used in the Goa elections came from four hawala routes.

The AAP chief was produced before the court around 2 pm amid tight security on and around the court premises. ASG Raju said the AAP is not an individual but a company, and every person responsible for the conduct of the company will be held responsible. The probe agency said Vijay Nair, AAP's former communication head, acted as the middleman between South Group and the AAP.

Arvind Kejriwal "took advantage" of being the chief minister of Delhi to facilitate money laundering by the AAP, which is a "major beneficiary" of the proceeds of crimes generated in the alleged liquor scam case, the ED claimed on Friday.

The probe agency claimed in its remand papers that "Arvind Kejriwal was involved in the conspiracy of formulation of the excise policy 2021-22 to favour certain persons and also involved in the demanding of kickbacks from liquor businessmen in exchange of favours granting in the said policy."

It informed the court it has recorded the statements of various people engaged in the election campaign-related activities of the AAP during the Goa polls and it was found that "cash payments were made to them for work like survey workers, area managers, assembly managers etc".

The agency claimed these charges were also corroborated by one of the candidates of AAP for Goa elections of 2022 who said he received funds for election expenses "in cash" from the AAP volunteers in Goa.

The ED, for the first time in the about two year old probe, said the AAP was the "major beneficiary of the proceeds of crime generated in the Delhi liquor scam".

"In this manner, AAP has committed the offence of money laundering through Arvind Kejriwal and the offences thus are covered by section 70 of the PMLA," the ED said. The federal agency said that as the national convenor and member of the national executive, Kejriwal was "ultimately responsible for the funds being used in the election expenses including their generation".

Kejriwal, it alleged, was "not only the brain behind the AAP but also controlled its major activities".

It said kickbacks were allegedly generated by the 'South Group' members, that includes arrested BRS leader K Kavitha and some others, and a part of these were "used" in the Goa election campaign of the AAP.

The agency said Kejriwal "wilfully disobeyed" nine summons issued to him to join this probe and when his statement was recorded under the PMLA on Thursday, he did not "reveal the truth nor gave correct facts."

It said the agency wants his custody to unearth the remaining proceeds of crime generated in the case and that he needs to be interrogated with other accused and witnesses "involved in the kickbacks given by the South Group to the AAP and its leaders."

AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh are in judicial custody in the case. Kejriwal's name has been mentioned multiple times in the charge sheets filed by the ED.

Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who appeared on behalf of Kejriwal, said this is the first time in the history of India that a sitting chief minister has been arrested.

The power of arrest is not equal to the need of arrest and there was no necessity of arresting this man, he said.

"Please don't look at remand as a routine exercise... it requires application of significant judicial mind... larger issues of democracy involved," Singhvi said.

Lawyer Vikram Chaudhari, who is also representing the Delhi chief minister, told the court that the "ED has become judge, jury and executioner".

Meanwhile, addressing a press conference, senior AAP leader and Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj claimed that a pharmacy firm paid Rs 25 crore to the BJP through electoral bonds after its director was arrested in the excise policy case.

Bharadwaj also said that there was a threat to the life of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. "It is being repeatedly said that there is threat to the life of Kejriwal who has been arrested without any evidence," Bharadwaj said.

A Hyderabad-based Pharma company whose director was arrested by ED in the excise policy case paid Rs 25 crore in electoral bonds to the BJP in November 2022, he alleged. "So the money trail and proceeds of crime in this excise case are heading to the BJP," he claimed.

Bharadwaj said the manner in which Kejriwal was arrested is "inhuman".

He added that the chief minister's family members, including elderly parents, were not being allowed to meet their relatives or AAP leaders since last evening.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.