Vigilance dept terminates Kejriwal’s PA Bibhav Kumar after ED questioning

New Delhi: Days after ED questioning in the Delhi liquor scam, the Directorate of Vigilance on Thursday terminated Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's personal assistant Bibhav Kumar.

Kumar was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate on Monday along with AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak in the excise policy-linked money laundering case.

Their statements were recorded under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Both of them were questioned in this case earlier too by the ED.

The 55-year-old CM, also the national convenor of the AAP, was arrested by the ED in this case last month. He is currently lodged in the Tihar Jail under judicial custody.

The agency had alleged in its earlier charge sheets that at least 36 accused, including former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Kumar, "destroyed, used or changed" 170 phones to conceal evidence of "kickbacks" worth thousands of crores of rupees in the alleged scam.

The IMEI (International Mobile Equipment Identity) of Kumar's mobile number is stated to have been changed four times between September 2021 and July 2022, according to the ED charge sheet filed before a local court last year.

The ED has alleged that Rs 45 crore "kickbacks", out of the Rs 100 crore "bribe" provided by the 'South Group', were used by the AAP for this campaign.

The agency has claimed that cash payments were made to individuals involved in campaign activities, managed by AAP members like Vijay Nair and Pathak.

The excise case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22, which was later scrapped.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena recommended a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the liquor policy. Subsequently, the ED registered a case under the PMLA.