New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday arrested former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi Manish Sisodia on money laundering charges linked to excise policy case.

ED alleged that Sisodia was “evasive” in his replies

The former Delhi deputy chief minister was placed under arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following his second round of questioning at the Tihar jail. Sisodia’a arrest comes a day before the hearing on his bail plea on March 10. However, his judicial custody ends on March 20.

The ED alleged that Sisodia was “evasive” in his replies and was “not cooperating in the probe” and hence was arrested. The agency is expected to obtain a production warrant from a special PMLA court and then produce him before it on Friday seeking his custody for interrogation. The federal probe agency had recorded the statement of the AAP leader for the first time on March 7 for about five hours.

Earlier on March 4, Sisodia in his bail plea, had mentioned the festival of Holi and his wife’s health as the primary reasons to grant bail. However, the court didn’t grant relief to Sisodia today, deferring the matter for March 10.

Reacting to Sisodia’s death, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari said that the AAP leaders have a old habit of claiming that nothing was found in the investigation by central agencies but they fail to give any justifications on the charges of money laundering. Sisodia’s arrest after a long questioning by ED shows that those guilty cannot escape from the investigation agencies.