ED questions Kejriwal's PA in excise case

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday questioned Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's personal assistant Bibhav Kumar as part of its ongoing investigation into a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy, officials said.

Kumar deposed before the federal probe agency here and the investigators are recording his statement under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the officials said. His questioning is understood to be related to the ED's charges made before the court that at least 36 accused, including Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Bibhav 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 Bibhav's mobile number is stated to have been changed four times between September 2021 to July 2022, as per the ED chargesheet filed before a local court. The agency is expected to question Kumar about the meetings that were held during process of the formulation of the excise policy 2021-22, which has now been scrapped, and his role at these discussions and his attendance there alone and along with his boss Kejriwal.