New Delhi: In a significant development, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on June 26 in connection with the alleged irregularities surrounding the citys liquor policy. The CBI has secured a three-day custody of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief for further interrogation.Whats in remand The arrest follows a remand application filed by the CBI before Delhis Rouse Avenue Court, where the agency highlighted the hurried handling of files related to the now-defunct liquor policy during the peak of the second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. The application cited testimony from Pravesh Jha, Additional Secretary to Kejriwal, confirming directives from the Chief Ministers Personal Secretary, Bibhav Kumar, for urgent approval of the draft Excise Policy by the Council of Ministers.Who are co-accused According to the remand application, the CBI alleges that co-accused individuals Butchibabu, Abhishek Boinpally, and Arun R Pillai met with Vijay Nair, approver Dinesh Arora, and liquor businessmen in Delhi on May 21, 2021, at a guest house booked by Bibhav Kumar. Furthermore, the CBI claims that Rs 44.54 crores were transferred through hawala channels from Delhi to Goa for various election-related expenses of the AAP during the Goa Assembly Election 2021-22, beginning June 21, 2021.South Group met Kejriwal on March 16The investigation also alleges that liquor baron Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy, identified by the Enforcement Directorate as a member of the South Group, met with Kejriwal on March 16, 2021, seeking support for the liquor business in Delhi ahead of the Excise Policy for 2021-22. The CBI claims Kejriwal assured Reddy of support and directed him to contact Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K Kavitha, who was arrested on March 15 and reportedly collaborating with Kejriwals team on the liquor policy.Support in liquor business The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has claimed that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal requested monetary support for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from then YSRCP Lok Sabha MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, while assuring him of support in Delhis liquor business. The CBI asserts that this information is supported by contemporaneous documentary evidence.Main conspirators behind liquor excise caseThe agency has labeled Arvind Kejriwal as one of the primary conspirators involved in irregularities related to the excise policy for 2021-22. It has been revealed that Vijay Nair, a close associate of Kejriwal and former media in-charge of AAP, has been contacting various liquor manufacturers and traders since March 2021, demanding undue gratification for incorporating provisions favorable to them in the upcoming Delhi excise policy 2021-22, the agency stated.Profit increased to 12 percent The CBI further asserts that on March 18, 2021, then-Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia instructed his Personal Secretary C Arvind, in Kejriwals presence, to draft a Group of Ministers report, which was subsequently typed in Sisodias office conference room. The report allegedly favored wholesalers by increasing their profit margin from 5 percent to 12 percent.Arvind Kejriwal to appear before the Rouse Avenue Court The recommendations of the Group of Ministers were incorporated into the draft new excise policy of Delhi for 2021-22, approved by Arvind Kejriwal on April 15, 2021, for submission to the Cabinet, the CBI claimed. Arvind Kejriwal is scheduled to appear before the Rouse Avenue Court at 7 pm on June 29 for further proceedings.
