NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday claimed that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal told them during his remand custody that he had "limited interaction" with Vijay Nair and the latter used to report to AAP leaders Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj and not to him.
The ED, in its application for judicial custody of the chief minister, stated that Kejriwal's aforesaid statement was a glaring example of his evasive and misleading replies.
"The statements by Vijay Nair reveal that he stayed in a Cabinet Minister's bungalow and worked from the Camp Office of the CM. It was also put to the arrestee to explain why would someone who reported to other leaders of the AAP, work from his Camp Office, which anyways is meant for the work of the CM of Delhi and not for the party," the ED’s judicial custody application read.
The agency further stated that CM Kejriwal evaded this question by claiming that he was unaware of who all work at the CM’s Camp Office.
As per ED, Vijay Nair was not some small time volunteer of the AAP but was its Head of Media and Communications. During the ED custody, Kejriwal was also shown different WhatsApp chats showing the involvement of Vijay Nair in the excise policy case.
"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 the non-cooperation of the arrestee," it further read.
During his custodial interrogation at the ED headquarters, the Delhi chief minister was shown the evidence of more than 10 meetings of Vijay Nair with other co-accused involved in the liquor business, including manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and even middlemen like Dinesh Arora and Abhishek Boinpally. However, as per ED, Kejriwal evaded questions by showing unawareness of these persons.
"It is clear that a senior functionary like Vijay 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/meetings was reaped by the AAP in the Goa election campaign," the application read.
Meanwhile, AAP leader Jasmine Shah immediately retaliated to the ED's accusations, by saying that when Vijay Nair was arrested, he had at that time only conveyed to the ED that he reported to only Atishi and Saurabh Bhardwaj.
"The question arises that why did ED raise the statement which it has in writing after one and a half to two years?," Shah asserted.
Shah alleged that ED is preparing to to put more AAP leaders behind bars as it has understood that arresting CM Kejriwal won't finish the party.
