Arvind Kejriwal placed on remand till March 28

A Delhi court today placed Delhi chief minister and a key opposition leader Arvind Kejriwal, who was arrested last night in connection with a case of alleged money laundering linked to liquor policy, in remand till March 28.

The Rouse Avenue court's order came after it heard arguments by Kejriwal's lawyer challenging his arrest tonight and the counsel of anti-money laundering agency ED which had sought custody of the Aam Aadmi Party chief for 10 days, reports our New Delhi correspondent.

Additional Solicitor General SV Raju alleged before the court that the chief minister was directly involved in the formulation of Delhi government's liquor policy and the subsequent use of the proceeds of the "crime."

The policy was made in such a manner that it enabled the taking of bribes, he said. Vijay Nair was the middleman between AAP and a cartel of southern India.

Raju claimed Kejriwal was the "kingpin" of the alleged scam and the money was used for the party's legislative assembly elections in Goa in 2022.

Kejriwal had demanded Rs 100 crore from some accused from the south group cartel to fund AAP's assembly in Punjab too, the ED told the court.

The agency also said Kejriwal himself met with Bharat Rashtra Samithi legislator K Kavitha, who has already been arrested in the case, and said they should work together on the liquor policy.

The proceeds of crime of about Rs 45 crores received from the southern cartel were used by AAP in the Goa poll campaign in 2021-22. The ED claimed it has corroboration of everything they are saying.

A huge amount of cash changed hands, the ED said. Kejriwal is also liable for the role of his associates. The agency said Goa legislators said they received cash

"We've arrested the CM because of both individual and vicarious liability," ED told the court.

ED said it needed Kejriwal's remand to "recover the money trail."

Kejriwal's lawyer told the court that he was not an accused.

To this, the ED said, "One need not be an accused in the predicate offence to be an accused under Prevention of Money Laundering Act."

Representing Delhi CM and AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, senior advocate Ramesh Gupta said, "All material against the alleged 'kingpin' was already with them (ED). They had all the information beforehand. No new fact has come to light," he added.