PC arrested amid high drama, 90 min after he emerges to address media

SC No To Urgent Hearing; He Will Be Produced In CBI Court Today

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:22.08.2019

Capping a day of dramatic developments, including at the Supreme Court where he failed to get relief, former finance minister P Chidambaram was arrested by CBI on Wednesday evening from his residence even as Congress supporters raised slogans and TV crew members milled around.

Chidambaram, missing since Tuesday afternoon when the Delhi high court ended his interim bail in the INX FDI case, dramatically appeared at the Congress headquarters on Wednesday evening claiming he had been planning his legal defence and was ready to face the law. After a brief statement, he reached his Jor Bagh residence where he remained ensconced till 9.45pm when he was arrested by a CBI team amid tumultuous scenes.

The CBI team and an accompanying Delhi police force reached Chidambaram’s residence after having gone to the Congress office earlier. Congress MPs and senior lawyers Abhishek Singhvi and Kapil Sibal were seen entering the residence along with Chidambaram.

ED probing 4 more FIPB approvals

Widening its probe, the Enforcement Directorate is now working on “leads” allegedly suggesting that the former FM received ₹300 crore in bribes for FIPB approvals to different companies, including Diageo Scotland, Katara Holdings, Essar Steel and Elforge Ltd. P10

Rahul & Priyanka lead Cong support

Congress came out in full support of Chidambaram, with Rahul Gandhi saying the Modi government was “misusing power”. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said he was being “hunted down” for exposing the government’s many failures. “The drama is simply to satisfy some people,” tweeted Karti Chidambaram. P 10

BJP rejects political vendetta charge

Saying the Centre did not interfere in the probe against P Chidambaram, BJP rejected charge of vendetta and said the senior leader must face the consequences of his deeds. “BJP has got nothing to do with it,” said Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, calling the Congress leader an “absconding revolutionary of corruption”. P 10

›Fight to escalate, P 10