The Enforcement Directorate has acknowledged a statement made by Delhi minister Atishi, indicating that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal issued directives from the agency's custody regarding public welfare initiatives concerning water and sewerage, as per official sources on Sunday.
The federal agency is set to launch an inquiry to determine whether these directives from the detained chief minister adhered to the special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court's stipulations issued to the ED and Kejriwal during his custody period, sources stated.
During Kejriwal's remand in ED custody until March 28, the court permitted his wife Sunita Kejriwal and personal assistant Bibhav Kumar to visit him daily for thirty minutes between 6 and 7 pm, in addition to his legal representatives for another thirty minutes.
Earlier on Sunday, Water Minister Atishi revealed during a press briefing that Kejriwal dispatched a document from ED custody on Saturday containing "his instructions" to address public concerns regarding water and sewerage.
She disclosed that the chief minister instructed for an adequate number of water tankers to be deployed in areas experiencing water scarcity to bolster supply before the onset of summer months.
Kejriwal also directed her to issue directives to the chief secretary and other officials in this regard, she further mentioned.
Kejriwal, aged 55, was apprehended by the ED on March 21 following searches at his official residence in connection with a case of money laundering linked to the Delhi excise policy.
Sources suggest that the ED will probe whether proper procedures were followed during these interactions. Any deviations found will be duly reported to the designated special court, they added.
The meeting space where the detainee meets his legal team and family members at the ED headquarters on A P J Abdul Kalam Road in central Delhi is monitored via CCTV video link, according to sources.
Kejriwal, who also serves as the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has reportedly been interrogated in recent days regarding the formulation of the now-defunct Delhi excise policy 2021-22, his engagements with various government officials and private stakeholders, and the testimonies of other suspects and witnesses in the case thus far.
The ED is also probing whether mobile phones handled by the chief minister's aides and staff were reset or went missing shortly after the policy was scrapped, prompting separate criminal investigations by the agency and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to look into alleged irregularities.
While the ED has accused Kejriwal of being the "mastermind and main conspirator" behind the Delhi excise policy "scandal", the chief minister and his party have dismissed the agency's actions as "political vendetta" orchestrated by the BJP-led central government.
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