ED grills Delhi CM’s aide & MLA

The Enforcement Directorate on Monday questioned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwalrsquos personal assistant Bibhav Kumar and AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak in the excise policylinked money laundering case officials said Their statement is being recorded under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA they said Both of them have been questioned in this case earlier too by the ED Sources said Kumarrsquos questioning was essential in connection with the engagements of Kejriwal The 55yearold CM also the national convenor of the AAP was arrested by the ED in this case last month He is currently lodged in the Tihar Jail under judicial custodyArvind Kejriwal comes out of the Rouse Avenue Court last month PicPTIThe agency had alleged in its earlier charge sheets that at least 36 accused including former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Kumar ldquodestroyed used or changedrdquo 170 phones to conceal evidence of ldquokickbacksrdquo worth thousands of crores of rupees in the alleged scam The IMEI International Mobile Equipment Identity of Bibhavrsquos mobile number is stated to have been changed four times between September 2021 and July 2022 according to the ED charge sheet filed before a local court last yearBibhav Kumar Kejriwalrsquos PA right Durgesh Pathak AAP MLAPathak the 35yearold AAP MLA from Rajinder Nagar constituency is understood to have been called by the agency for questioning in connection with the partyrsquos 202122 poll campaign for the Goa assembly polls ED has alleged that Rs 45 crore kickbacks out of the Rs 100 crore ldquobriberdquo provided by the lsquoSouth Grouprsquo were used by the AAP for this campaign Agency claimed that cash payments were made to individuals involved in campaign activities managed by AAP members like Vijay Nair and PathakAAP starts campaign lsquoJail Ka Jawab Vote SersquoAhead of the Lok Sabha polls AAP on Monday launched a ldquoJail ka Jawab Vote Serdquo campaign to seek public support for the party and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal who is currently lodged in Tihar jail Addressing a press conference AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak said ldquoKejriwal was arrested as part of a big conspiracy It is the first time that a sitting CM has been arrested during the LS polls We are launching the campaign lsquoJail Ka Jawab Vote Sersquo and we want you to empower KejriwalrdquoBRS leader Kavitha denied interim bailA court here on Monday denied interim bail to BRS leader K Kavitha in the Delhi excise policyrelated money laundering case Special Judge Kaveri Baweja dismissed the plea saying the stage was not right to enlarge her on interim bail Kavitha had approached the court for interim bail saying her 16yearold son has exams and needs his motherrsquos ldquomoral and emotional supportrdquo The ED had opposed the submission claiming Kavitha destroyed evidence and influenced witnesses in the case The agency had alleged that Kavitha is a key member of the ldquoSouth Grouprdquo which has been accused of paying the ruling AAP in Delhi kickbacks of Rs 100 crore in return for a big share of liquor licences in the national capital Kavitha 46 was arrested from her Banjara Hills residence on March 15 amid protests by BRS supporters She was then sent to sevenday ED custody the next dayThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever