Kejriwal leaves CBI office after 9 hours of questioning, 'detained' AAP leaders released
2 min read . Updated: 16 Apr 2023, 09:44 PM IST
Premium- Kejriwal waved to the waiting media persons as he left the building at around 8.30 pm after nearly nine hours of questioning.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal left the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) office at around 8.30pm on Sunday, after he was questioned as witness in the Delhi Excise Policy scam case by the investigative agency.
The AAP chief, who arrived at the heavily fortified agency headquarters at around 11 am in his official black SUV, was taken to the first-floor office of the Anti Corruption Branch where he was quizzed by the investigation team, they said.
Kejriwal was accompanied by Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and other party leaders.
Reports mentioned that Kejriwal waved at media persons as he left the CBI's office on Sunday.
The chief minister had a lunch break during the day, they said.
AAP leader Manish Sisodia was arrested on February 26 after nearly eight hours of questioning in the case with officials saying his answers were not satisfactory. He later quit as deputy chief minister of Delhi.
Senior officials of the agency remained present in the office on Sunday to keep an eye on the development, a normal course whenever a VIP comes to the agency, they said.
The Aam Aadmi Party held protests in many areas against the CBI's summons to Kejriwal and several top leaders were detained by police.
AAP staged a protest outside the CBI office today against Kejriwal's questioning following which the leaders including Raghav Chadha, Sanjay Singh, Atishi, Kailash Gahlot and Saurabh Bharadwaj and others were detained and brought to Najafgarh police station in Delhi.
Ahead of his appearance before the central investigative agency in connection with the excise policy case, Kejriwal paid tributes to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat in the national capital on Sunday.
Kejriwal was accompanied by his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Maan, AAP MP Sanjay Singh and other top leaders of the party.
Before heading to the CBI office, Kejriwal said that the central agency will arrest him if the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has given the orders.
Earlier, fearing that the Central Bureau of Investigation may arrest Arvind Kejriwal as the questioning is underway at the CBI headquarters in the national capital, AAP Delhi convenor Gopal Rai convened a meeting at the party office.
The office bearers, district president, national secretaries and other leaders of the party were asked to join the meeting.
The detained AAP leaders were heard chanting slogans against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
"BJP suffers from Kejriwal phobia. It is because of Kejriwal's fear that the BJP has come down to such an act. It is a cowardly act. We are not scared of jail," Raghav Chadha said.