The Enforcement Directorate (ED), while seeking direction to send the Delhi chief minister to judicial custody, said the arrestee (Kejriwal) is not only concealing the information but also misleading the probe agency by giving false and contrary statements vis-a-vis other members of his party. The federal agency informed the Rouse Avenue Court that when it confronted him with the statements given by other AAP leaders, he called them confused.

Following are the key takeaways that Enforcement Directorate told the Rouse Avenue Court after Arvind Kejriwal’s questioning:

• The Enforcement Directorate said the Delhi chief minister gave ambiguous replies and concealed information. The probe agency said Kejriwal was confronted with the statements of different witnesses, approvers and other co-accused.
• The ED said the Delhi chief minister claimed that AAP national treasurer Vijay Nair did not report to him but to Aatishi Marlena and Saurav Bharadwaj. However, the agency claimed that co-accused Vijay Nair said in his statements that he stayed in Kejriwal’s bungalow and worked from his office. Vijay Nair is an AAP worker. He is also a co-accused in the liquor policy case.
• The Enforcement Directorate said when they asked the Delhi chief minister why the AAP’s national treasurer who was reporting to other leaders was working from his camp office, Kejriwal evaded replying.

“It was also put to the arrestee to explain why would someone, who reported to other leaders of AAP, work from his camp office which anyway is meant for the work of the CM of Delhi and not for the party. Kejriwal evaded replying to this by claiming unawareness to the persons who work at the CM camp office,” the ED said.

• The ED claimed that the Delhi chief minister didn’t answer questions on the authenticity of digital evidence shown to him. The probe agency also claimed that he didn’t reveal the passwords of his mobile devices. “The arrestee (Kejriwal) has not answered the questions posed to him by questioning the authenticity of digital evidence shown to him. The arrestee also did not reveal the passwords of his digital devices which inhibits the evidence collection and also shows his non-cooperation,” it said. 
• The ED said Kejriwal was shown “evidence” about more than 10 meetings that Nair had with other co-accused named in this case like liquor manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers and even “middlemen” like Dinesh Arora and Abhishek Boinpally and was asked under what authority was he attending these meetings? However, Kejriwal “evaded” the question by saying he was unaware of these persons.

“It was put to the arrestee to explain the authority with which Nair attended these meetings, the arrestee evaded the question by claiming unawareness of these persons and it is clear that a senior functionary like Nair who closely worked with the arrestee wouldn’t be able to assert himself without the sanction and approval of the head of the party. This is also because the ultimate benefit of these conspiracies or meetings was reaped by the AAP in the Goa election campaign.”

• The ED further said Kejriwal was shown proof of hawala transfers of around ₹45 crore. It claimed it had corroborated the payments with CDR locations, call records and WhatsApp chats. “Even after showing all the above evidence, the arrestee claimed unawareness even though the beneficiary of these funds is the AAP which is headed by him,” it said.
• “The arrestee (Kejriwal) has even given false and contrary evidence vis-a-vis other members of the AAP. When he was confronted with the statements given by his own party leaders he called them confused.”
• The ED claimed that Kejriwal told the agency that ND Gupta, also a Rajya Sabha member of the AAP, is an “active member of the party and is a member of the PAC and has knowledge of the party functioning but when confronted with the statement of Sh N D Gupta wherein he (Gupta) reveals that the national convenor takes such decisions, Sh Arvind Kejriwal calls the National Treasurer confused.”
• The agency claimed that Nair, who was arrested by the agency, “arranged a video call through facetime (a video calling facility on iPhone) on his phone for Sameer (Mahandru) and Sh Arvind Kejriwal, where Sh Arvind said to Sh Sameer that, Vijay is his boy and that Sh Sameer should trust him and carry on with him”. Sameer Mahandru, a liquor businessman was also arrested by the Enforcement Directorate.
• The ED further said that the arrestee was “highly influential” and could tamper with evidence. “That the department (ED) is still further investigating the role of the arrestee in the instant matter and is unearthing the further proceeds of crime and identifying the other persons who are involved or connected with the process or activities related to proceeds of crime,” the ED said.

Milestone Alert!
Livemint tops charts as the fastest growing news website in the world 🌏 Click here to know more.

Unlock a world of Benefits! From insightful newsletters to real-time stock tracking, breaking news and a personalized newsfeed – it’s all here, just a click away! Login Now!

Published: 01 Apr 2024, 07:41 PM IST