By – Prakarsh Kastwar
Amit Palekar, the head of AAP Goa, was summoned by the ED on Wednesday due to alleged usage of “illegal funds” in Goa’s election campaign.
Days after Delhi president Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) questioned Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Goa president Amit Palekar, who served as the party’s chief ministerial candidate in the state’s assembly elections.
On March 28, the ED summoned Palekar and some other Goa-based party leaders for questioning in a money-laundering case relating to the Delhi excise policy, according to official sources. According to sources, the AAP leaders have been called to depose at the central agency’s office in Panjim, Goa, on Thursday.
Palekar, the AAP’s chief ministerial candidate in the February 2022 Goa Assembly elections, recently stated that there was no evidence to establish that any unlawful money was sent to the state, and that he and his party colleagues were prepared to face any inquiry.
The ED chargesheet alleges that the AAP used “proceeds of crime” to the tune of roughly ₹45 crore in its Goa poll campaign, from the ₹100 crore “bribe” pushed in by the “South Group” that allegedly involved Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K Kavitha.
The ED also detained Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao’s daughter K Kavitha in connection with the excise policy case, only days before Kejriwal was arrested.
The central agency arrested Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on March 21 and extended his custody till March 28. The chief minister will be brought before a Delhi court at the end of his remand period, which is tomorrow.
Delhi High Court sends notice to Enforcement Directorate.
In response to a petition filed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal contesting both his detention and the ED remand ordered by the trial court, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday sent notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) without providing any immediate relief.
The court also scheduled a hearing for April 3 and ruled that any release order from custody would be equivalent to extending Arvind Kejriwal’s bail or temporary bail as an interim treatment.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi represented Arvind Kejriwal and stated before the hearing that a sitting Chief Minister was detained one week earlier while following the Model Code of Conduct.
In his plea, Kejriwal also claimed that the DOE failed to establish that Petitioner was guilty of committing Section 3 activities at the time of arrest, such as concealment, possession, acquisition, or use of proceeds of crime, as well as projecting or claiming it to be untainted property.