For the first time in its probe into the Delhi excise policy case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has named Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal as a conspirator in the case.
“ED investigation revealed that K Kavitha along with others allegedly conspired with the top leaders of AAP including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia for getting favours in the Delhi Excise policy formulation and implementation,” the ED claimed in a statement, on Monday, reported ANI.
Kavitha is a Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader. She is the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao. On Friday, she was arrested by the ED. Earlier in the day, the agency and the Income Tax department conducted searches at her Hyderabad residence.
The BRS leader and her associates were to recover the proceeds of crime paid in advance to the Aam Aadmi Party and to further generate profits/proceeds of crime from this entire conspiracy, said the ED.
Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate had alleged in its chargesheet that Kavitha was part of a ‘South Group’ that paid Rs 100 crore in kickbacks to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders in exchange for undue benefits under the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.
However, at that time, the ED had not named the Delhi chief minister in connection with this allegation.
Till now, the Enforcement Directorate has conducted searches on 245 locations across India, including Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and other places, the ED spokesperson said on Monday, reported The Indian Express. The ED said that 15 persons( including Manish Sisodia), Nair, and Sanjay Singh from the AAP, have been taken in custody.
In response to the ED’s claims, the AAP said in a statement, that ED has released “blatantly false and frivolous statements which show that instead of being a neutral investigative agency, it is working like a political wing of BJP.”
Meanwhile, on Monday, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) opposed Sisodia’s bail plea in the court of special judge M K Nagpal. On February 26 last year, Sisodia was arrested by the CBI.
Appearing for the Central Bureau of Investigation, Additional Public Prosecutor Pankaj Gupta said there was no delay from their side. “Trial starts after the arguments on charge. We’re trying to start that… the accused are delaying the trial,” he said, reported The Indian Express. “Some high-profile persons may also be arrested in the case since the investigation is ongoing,” Gupta said, the report added.