Amidst dramatic scenes, senior Congress leader P Chidambaram was arrested in the INX Media case on Wednesday night after he failed to get relief from the Supreme Court over CBI and ED's pursuit of him as the matter was not heard by the court despite repeated efforts of his lawyers.
In a dramatic move, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram, facing arrest in cases of corruption and money laundering, appeared at the Congress headquarters on Wednesday evening to declare his innocence and asked probe agencies to "respect" the law till the Supreme Court hears his bail plea on Friday.
Chidambaram, who failed to get immediate relief from the Supreme Court on his plea to stay the Delhi High Court order dismissing his anticipatory bail petition on Tuesday, put up a strong defence of himself and his family members, saying none of them has been directly accused of any offence by the probe agencies in the FIR or the charge sheet. Chidambaram was later arrested from his residence in Jor Bagh, soon after he addressed journalists at the party office.
Recap of events from night
Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram was arrested by the CBI Wednesday night from his residence in connection with INX media corruption case after dramatic developments with the agency sleuths scaling walls to gain access to the bungalow in the high-end Jor Bagh locality.
He then left for his Jor Bagh residence from the Congress office and teams of the CBI and the ED reached soon after.
He was arrested in the glare of media after over an hour-long drama during which some officials scaled the wall to gain entry to his house.
Supporters of the former Finance Minister raised slogans and tried to stop officials from taking him away. Some of them also blocked the road in protest. Two of them climbed on the car in which Chidambaram was being taken and had to be brought down. An official took to scooter to move away from reporters chasing him for information. CBI and ED had issued a lookout circular against him.
A CBI spokesperson said he has been arrested on the basis of a warrant issued by a competent court.
After his arrest at his residence, the former minister was taken to Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital where a medical examination was done.
Chidambaram has been kept in the suit No. 5 of the CBI Guest House on the ground floor of the agency headquarters.
He will be produced before a special CBI court on Thursday, where the agency will seek his remand.
The CBI which was looking for 73-year old Chidambaram since Tuesday after his anticipatory bail application was rejected by the Delhi High Court managed to get a whiff of his location only when he appeared on camera at the Congress headquarters in the evening to make a press statement.
Rejecting reports of his evading the law, he told reporters that the charges against him and his son were "nothing further from truth".
