"Kejriwal said Vijay Nair reported to Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj and not him", ED tells Court

New Delhi [India], April 1 (ANI): The Enforcement Directorate apprised the court on Monday that during the recording of a statement in custody, Arvind Kejriwal stated that his interaction with former communication-in-charge of the AAP, Vijay Nair, was limited as he only reported to party leaders Atishi and Saurabh Bhardwaj.
According to the ED submission in court, the statements of Vijay Nair himself reveal that he stayed in a Cabinet Minister's bungalow and worked from the camp office of the Chief Minister.
It was also put to the arrestee to explain why someone, who reported to other leaders of AAP, works from his camp office, which anyway is meant for the work of the CM of Delhi and not for the party, the central agency said.
ED further mentioned to the court that Arvind Kejriwal evaded replying to this by claiming unawareness of the persons who work at the CM Camp office.
It is noteworthy that Vijay Nair is not some small-time volunteer of AAP but is its head of media and communications. He was also shown different WhatsApp chats showing the involvement of Vijay Nair, who was a close associate of the arrestee and lived and worked very closely with the arrestee. The arrestee has not answered the questions posed to him by questioning the authenticity of the digital evidence shown to him, ED stated.
ED, while moving an application to send Kejriwal to judicial custody, told the court that Arvind Kejriwal also did not reveal the passwords of his digital devices, which inhibits evidence collection and also shows the non-cooperation of the arrestee.
According to the ED submission, the arrestee, Arvind Kejriwal, was shown evidence of more than 10 meetings of Vijay Nair with other co-accused persons involved in the liquor business, including liquor manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and even middlemen like Dinesh Arora and Abhishek Boinpally.
"It was put to the arrestee to explain the authority with which Vijay Nair attended these meetings, the arrestee evaded the question by claiming 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," ED said.
During custodial remand, Arvind Kejriwal was shown the evidence of Hawala transfers to the tune of Rs. 45 crore, which is corroborated with CDR locations, call records, IT seized data of Hawala firm in Goa, proof of payments being done in part cash and part bill and WhatsApp showing this arrangement, the central agency said.
He was also shown multiple statements from witnesses who worked on the AAP campaign in Goa and received cash from one Chanpreet Singh who was working for the AAP campaign in Goa.
ED further apprised the court that during the custodial interrogation of the arrestee, his multiple statements were recorded.
"During the period of custody, statements of the arrestee have been taken on 9 days. The arrestee was interrogated and questions were asked about the findings of the investigation. The arrestee was confronted with the statements of different witnesses, approvers, and other co-accused who have revealed the role of the arrestee," ED said.
The Rouse Avenue Court on Monday sent Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal to judicial custody till April 15 in an alleged money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy case.
The case pertains to alleged irregularities and money laundering in framing and implementing the Delhi Excise Policy 2022, which was later scrapped.
While Kejriwal was not named in the FIRs registered by the ED or the Central Bureau of Investigation in the Delhi excise policy case, his name first found a mention in the ED's chargesheet, wherein the agency claimed that he allegedly spoke to one of the main accused, Sameer Mahendru, in a video call and asked him to continue working with co-accused and AAP communications-in-charge Vijay Nair.
Nair was among the first people to be arrested by the CBI in the case, in 2022. Subsequently, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh were arrested in connection with the case. (ANI)