CBI arrests Chidambaram from his home late evening
| Date :22-Aug-2019 |
NEW DELHI:
Chidambaram will be produced before a special CBI court today, where the agency will seek his remand
FORMER Finance Minister P Chidambaram was arrested by the CBI on Wednesday night from his residence in connection with INX media corruption case after dramatic developments with the agency sleuths scaling walls to gain access to the bungalow in the high-end Jor Bagh locality. “Mr P Chidambaram has been arrested in connection with INX media case,” a senior official of the agency said. A CBI spokesperson said he has been arrested on the basis of a warrant issued by a competent court. After his arrest at his residence, the former minister was taken to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital where a medical examination was done, sources said.
Chidambaram has been kept in the suit No. 5 of the CBI Guest House on the ground floor of the agency headquarters, they said. He will be produced before a special CBI court on Thursday, where the agency will seek his remand. The CBI which was looking for 73-year old Chidambaram since Tuesday after his anticipatory bail application was rejected by the Delhi High Court managed to get a whiff of his location only when he appeared on camera at the Congress headquarters in the evening to make a press statement. Rejecting reports of his evading the law, he told reporters that the charges against him and his son were “nothing further from truth”.
Flanked by senior Supreme Court lawyers and party colleagues Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Chidambaram said he was working with his lawyers through the last night, preparing his papers for his bail application, which was filed before the Supreme Court earlier. The sleuths rushed to the party office, but by the time they reached, Chidambaram had already left for his residence 115-A in Jorbagh, a 10-minute distance from the party office, in a luxury sedan accompanied with his lawyers and party colleagues -- Singhvi and Sibal. Leaving no stones unturned to avoid an embarrassing situation of Tuesday when the agency failed to locate him at his bungalow, the CBI team made a strong presence today with about two dozens officers swarming the place.
With a big media contingent beaming live images of the developments, the CBI team first knocked the gates to gain entry but finding no response, they nimbly scaled the nearly five-ft high walls to gain entry. Once three officers reached inside, they opened the gates to allow entry to other team members waiting outside. Soon a team of officers, identifying themselves as from ED, too arrived at the scene. A team of about two dozen officials remained on guard at the bungalow when Chidambaram was inside with Sibal and Singhvi. After completing arrest formalities, the CBI team had to wade through Congress supporters who had gathered outside raising slogans against the agency. Some supporters jumped on the white car in which Chidambaram was being taken to the agency headquarters.