Arvind Kejriwal's house raided: Security beefed up outside Delhi CM's house as ED arrests him

Delhi Police has beefed up security at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence in Civil Lines as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested him in connection with the excise policy money laundering case on Thursday. Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel and additional police personnel have also been deployed there.

"The deployment has been made in anticipation of a gathering of AAP workers near his residence," a police officer told news agency PTI.

AAP ministers Atishi, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Delhi Assembly speaker Ram Niwas Goel and Rajinder Nagar MLA Durgesh Pathak reached the CM's residence. 

On the scale of force deployed outside Kejriwal's residence, the Delhi Assembly speaker said it shows that the ED has come to arrest the chief minister. 

“If the court has agreed to hear the case, why is the ED so restless? Manish Sisodia was also arrested without any proof by the agency.” 

The Delhi government will be run from the jail, said Ram Niwas Goel, adding that Kejriwal's arrest will just be a small setback to the party. 

“… will emerge stronger. Party and all MLAs have decided that CM Kejriwal will not resign after the arrest,” he added. 

Outside Kejriwal's house, Atishi has said the people of Delhi love CM Arvind Kejriwal, which is why Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP are “afraid of him”. 

“Arvind Kejriwal is not a person, he is an idea... We cannot go inside because heavy security is deployed. We will wait here. If a popular CM is arrested this way, his supporters from all over Delhi will come here,” she said.

Without waiting for the decision of the court, Atishi said, the ED has arrived to arrest Arvind Kejriwal.

She also questioned the deployment of Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel outside Kejriwal's residence. “If this is a search operation, why have they brought four buses full of police personnel? What was the need to bring two buses full of Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel?”

"What was the need to barricade the whole area?... This is a conspiracy to arrest Arvind Kejriwal," she stated.

Also read: ED searches Arvind Kejriwal's residence in excise policy case after Delhi HC refuses protection from arrest

According to ED officials, the agency team went to Kejriwal's residence to serve him a summons, shortly after the Delhi High Court refused to grant Kejriwal protection from coercive action in the Delhi excise policy scam-linked money laundering case.

The ED team also informed Kejriwal's staff that it had a search warrant.

The AAP chief has so far skipped as many as nine summonses of the probe agency in the case.