CBI arrests Kejriwal in excise ‘scam’

New Delhi: The CBI formally arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday and sought his five-day custody in a corruption case related to the alleged excise scam.

Special Judge Amitabh Rawat reserved the order on the custody plea for later in the day. In his submission before the court, Kejriwal claimed innocence in the case and said his former deputy Manish Sisodia as well as the Aam Aadmi Party are innocent. The central agency formally arrested the AAP leader after getting permission from the judge. It moved the application seeking Kejriwal’s arrest after he was produced before the court from the Tihar Central Jail.

The AAP leader is lodged in prison in an excise scam money laundering case being probed by the Enforcement Department. Kejriwal told the court, “It is being shown in the media, citing CBI sources, that I have put the entire blame on Manish Sisodia in a statement. I have not given any statement that Sisodia is guilty or anyone else is guilty. I have said Sisodia is innocent, AAP is innocent, I am innocent.”