Arvind Kejriwal's ED custody extended till April 1
New Delhi, Mar 28: A court here Thursday extended the Enforcement Directorate custody of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till April 1 in the excise policy case.
The agency sought seven-day custody of the AAP chief, but the court said he has to be produced before it on April 1 at 11 am.
The ED had produced him before Rouse Avenue court Special Judge Kaveri Baweja as his current six-day custody was ending on Thursday.
The ED said in its fresh remand plea that during Kejriwal's custodial interrogation, his statements were recorded over five days but he was "giving evasive replies".
It said statements of three other persons relevant to the case have also been recorded during the remand period.
It said that during the ED custody, Kejriwal was confronted with C Arvind, the then personal secretary to deputy CM Manish Sisodia who was handed over the draft Group of Ministers (GoM) report for the 2021-22 excise policy at the residence of the chief minister.
It said the statement of one of the AAP candidates in the 2022 Goa elections was also recorded during Kejriwal's ED custody. It revealed that the candidate did not have any money and his election expenditure was "taken care of by the AAP Office Delhi only through their associates",
The plea said that during the custody, data from the mobile phone of the chief minister's wife have been extracted and were being analysed.
"However, data from other four digital devices seized during the search at Kejriwal's premises on March 21 (belonging to Kejriwal) are yet to be extracted as the arrestee (Kejriwal) has sought time in providing password and login credentials after consulting with his lawyers," it said.
The application said the movable and immovable property details, income tax returns (ITRs), and other financial details sought from Kejriwal were yet to be provided by the chief minister, or his family members.
The federal probe agency said it had sought the details regarding the appointments made with the chief minister in the online portal in his office.
It said the during the interrogation, summonses were issued to senior excise officials in Punjab who were "involved in the arm-twisting of certain (liquor) wholesalers of Delhi."
The agency said that when the demand for bribes was not fulfilled, these officials either shut down their factories or did not allow the wholesalers to despatch their goods to Punjab.
The plea said the officials concerned sought time on the summonses, citing the hooch tragedy in Sangrur.
"The arrestee needs to be interrogated further in the wake of these reasons or findings. Hence, it is imperative in the interest of investigation that seven days' further custodial remand of Arvind Kejriwal may be granted to the Directorate of Enforcement," the plea said.
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It's govt's responsibility to support youth who dare to dream: Omar Abdullah
Jammu (PTI): Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said the government may not be able to provide jobs to everyone, but it can create an ecosystem for youngsters to become entrepreneurs and innovators.
It is the responsibility of the government to support youth who dare to dream, he said.
After inaugurating the 11th National Conference and Exhibition on Emerging and Innovative Trends in Engineering Technology (NCEEITET) at the Government College of Engineering and Technology (GCET) in Jammu, Abdullah said, “We may not be able to provide jobs to everyone, but we can certainly create an environment where our youngsters become entrepreneurs and innovators.”
The two-day conference is being organised by the GCET in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Technology-Kharagpur and the World University Consortium (WUC).
Addressing the gathering, Abdullah assured that all necessary steps would be taken to strengthen infrastructure and support systems at the GCET, ensuring that it continues to evolve as a premier institution.
The chief minister also inaugurated a new building for the School of Architecture in the college, built at Rs 19.71 crore.
Stressing the need to balance modernity with the region’s cultural and historical identity, Abdullah said, “Not every building needs to be made of glass and steel. Our structures must reflect our heritage and preserve our cultural ethos.”
Highlighting the role of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, Abdullah said they could significantly improve tourism management, visitor experience and service delivery in Jammu and Kashmir.
However, he cautioned that technological advancement should complement human effort rather than replace jobs, especially in a region where unemployment remains a concern.
The chief minister said that attracting tourists to Jammu and Kashmir was not difficult, but ensuring repeat visits required consistently enriching experiences and better infrastructure across tourism segments, including pilgrimage, border and leisure tourism.
To address the infrastructure gaps in the college, Abdullah announced that funds would be provided this year for the construction of an auditorium.
He also assured support for setting up an incubation centre in GCET.
During the event, Abdullah also released the e-proceedings of the conference, comprising 28 shortlisted research papers.
