Kejriwal Goes Underground to Evade Possible Arrest in Liquor Mafia Case

Kejriwal Goes Underground to Evade Possible Arrest in Liquor Mafia Case

Although Kejriwal has refused to obey the ED orders, he will not be able to escape for long as the legal noose is tightening around his neck.

By Rakesh Raman

Delhi chief minister (CM) and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Arvind Kejriwal has once again defied the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons which called him for questioning in the liquor scam case.

It is reported that Kejriwal – who is facing serious cases of crime and corruption – has fled to some undisclosed location in Punjab where his party runs the government under CM Bhagwant Mann. 

The ED had called him for questioning today (December 21) for the second time in the liquor mafia case in which Kejriwal’s other colleagues – including Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh – are already in jail. 

As there is ample evidence of Kejriwal’s involvement in the liquor scandal, he was expected to be arrested after interrogation. Therefore, fearing arrest, Kejriwal decided to abscond.

Earlier, in a letter sent to the ED on November 2, Kejriwal said that the ED’s action is politically motivated and taken at the behest of the ruling party at the Centre (that is, the Modi government). 

In October, while rejecting the bail application of Sisodia, the Supreme Court said there is a possible embezzlement of Rs. 338 crore in the liquor scam case. But the embezzled money has not yet been recovered.

The possibility cannot be ruled out that the ill-gotten money in the liquor scandal or other scams in which AAP politicians are allegedly involved is hidden at Kejriwal’s fortress-like house which is guarded comprehensively.

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So far, Kejriwal has not provided access to his house to the investigating agencies. But if Kejriwal is arrested and jailed like his other colleagues, it will be easier for ED or the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to search his house to recover the corruption money.

Therefore, Kejriwal is making all sorts of excuses to defy the calls of the agencies which may arrest him immediately after his interrogation, as there is sufficient circumstantial and direct evidence of Kejriwal’s involvement in the liquor scandal and other financial crimes.

Along with Kejriwal, the other AAP politicians whose names appear in the investigating reports of CBI and the ED are Satyendar Jain, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, and Raghav Chadha. 

Jain, Sisodia, and Sanjay Singh have already been jailed for their acts of corruption. It is expected that an AAP woman politician who loudly spreads lies in the so-called press conferences will soon be called for interrogation by the law-enforcement agencies.

Similarly, AAP politicians in Punjab led by CM Bhagwant Mann may be arrested and jailed as Sisodia’s dubious Delhi liquor policy is being implemented in Punjab also. 

In November, a Punjab Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu filed a complaint to the Punjab Governor against the Punjab Government led by Bhagwant Mann. 

In his complaint letter, Sidhu raised concerns over the precarious financial situation in Punjab, deteriorating law and order in the state, and lack of accountability in the Bhagwant Mann government.

The president of the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) Sukhbir Singh Badal has also urged the Punjab Governor to hold a probe into the alleged Rs. 500-crore liquor policy scam committed by the AAP government in the state. 

It is learnt that the investigating agencies have already started questioning some of the Punjab Government functionaries and AAP leaders to know the extent of corruption in the Punjab liquor scandal.

While AAP politicians are apparently involved in multiple corruption scandals, it is expected that some of them named above will soon be behind bars.

In September, the CBI launched a preliminary inquiry into alleged irregularities in the construction and renovation of Kejriwal’s house on which the public money in excess of Rs. 45 crore has been squandered. It is a case of misappropriation of public money – which is a serious financial crime allegedly committed by Kejriwal.

Although Kejriwal has refused to obey the ED orders, he will not be able to escape for long as the legal noose is tightening around his neck.

By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He has also launched the “Power Play: Lok Sabha Election 2024 in India” editorial section to cover the news, events, and other developments related to the 2024 election.