New Delhi: Former Union Minister P. Chidamabram was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a swift operation on Wednesday night, minutes after he reached his Jor Bagh home following a dramatic appearance at the press conference at the Congress headquarters.
Chidambaram was seated in the middle of a white car with CBI personnel sitting on either side as he was driven straight to the agency’s headquarters, located barely a few kilometres away from his house.
Sources said CBI Director Rishi Kumar Shukla himself was present at the headquarters along with top officers for the questioning of the former minister. After completing the formalities, Chidambaram was arrested and will be produced in court on Thursday.
The moment Chidambaram arrived at his home from the press conference at the Congress headquarters on Akbar Road, the CBI personnel scaled walls and entered the premises.
A small group of slogan-shouting Congress workers were contained by Delhi Police personnel from posing any obstructions. The entire operation was swiftly executed within half an hour of his arrival in Jor Bagh.
Sources said that the team of lawyers were present with Chidambaram at the time when he was taken into custody.
A team of CBI personnel had been keeping surveillance outside Chidambaram’s house ever since the Delhi High Court denied his anticipatory bail on Tuesday. The CBI team could not find him home but they swarmed the area keeping a vigil on the visitors.
A team of Enforcement Directorate (ED) also followed to arrest the senior Congress leader who was at his house along with a battery of lawyers, including Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
