The Rouse Avenue court Special Judge Kaveri Baweja on Wednesday granted bail to AAP leader Durgesh Pathak upon furnishing a bail bond of Rs 1 lakh. The other accused also furnished their bail bonds. Durgesh Pathak and the other charge-sheeted accused appeared before the court on summons issued by the Rouse Avenue Court.
CM Arvind Kejriwal and other accused in custody were produced via video conferencing from Tihar Jail, while Vinod Chauhan appeared physically. Chauhan is in custody in a money laundering case. Arvind Kejriwal’s judicial custody has been extended until September 25.
The Rouse Avenue Court issued summons and production warrants for the accused after taking cognizance of the supplementary charge sheet filed by the CBI. Following the hearing, the CBI stated it would provide copies of the supplementary charge sheet to the counsels for the charge-sheeted accused. The list of unreleased documents will also be provided later.
The CBI had filed a supplementary charge sheet against Arvind Kejriwal, Durgesh Pathak, Amit Arora, Sharath Chandra Reddy, Ashish Mathur, and Vinod Chauhan.
On September 3, the court took cognizance of the supplementary charge sheet. Earlier, the CBI had filed a requisite prosecution sanction against Kejriwal and Durgesh Pathak, who is an MLA. The CBI alleges that money received from the South group was used for AAP’s Goa election campaign. It is also alleged that Kejriwal promised to provide Rs 90 lakhs to each candidate in 40 constituencies of Goa.
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Special Public Prosecutor (SPP) D.P. Singh, along with Manu Mishra, appeared for the CBI. He stated that this is the fourth and final charge sheet and that no further investigation is anticipated.
SPP D.P. Singh submitted that Kejriwal was in contact with the South group through Vijay Nair, who was appointed by Kejriwal as a media manager. The money received from the South group was used for AAP’s Goa election campaign, and Kejriwal allegedly promised Rs 90 lakhs to each candidate in 40 constituencies. Raghav Magunta reportedly met Kejriwal.
Singh further submitted that Durgesh Pathak was in charge of the Goa election. All the money spent on the Goa election was done on Pathak’s instructions. He is an MLA from Delhi.
SPP D.P. Singh also mentioned witnesses who claimed that a businesswoman from Punjab was threatened. He referenced the Mahadev liquor case and witnesses Sunny Marwah, Punit Diwan, and Jasdeep Kaur Chaddha. It is alleged that Amit Arora threatened Punit Diwan and another witness, claiming to be the brother of Dinesh Arora, an approver in the case. In May, a witness received a letter demanding the closure of the liquor business. Jagpreet Kaur was reportedly asked to donate Rs 51 crore to the CM’s relief fund. SPP D.P. Singh also mentioned accused Sharath Chandra Reddy, who allegedly arranged Rs 14 crores and acquired five liquor vends in Delhi.
Singh referred to WhatsApp chats involving Vinod Chauhan, Amit Arora, Jagdeep Kaur Chaddha, Punit Diwan, and Anant S. Aiyer, all related to the Mahadev liquor case.
Singh also cited statements from AAP’s Goa candidates, who claimed that Kejriwal told them not to worry about the funds required for the election. Singh further stated that the money was transferred under Pathak’s directions.
CM Arvind Kejriwal appeared via video conferencing and was permitted to leave the VC session for lunch due to low blood sugar. CBI’s SPP further submitted that another accused, Vinod Chauhan, was dealing with the PA of K Kavitha.
(INPUTS FROM ANI)
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