New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal arrested; won't resign said Aam Aadmi Party

New Delhi : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday night in an excise policy-linked money laundering case, officials said.

The arrest, the first of a sitting chief minister, came hours after the Delhi High Court refused to grant protection to Kejriwal from any coercive action by the agency. Soon after the high court order, an ED team reached his residence and carried out searches. Subsequently, he was arrested, officials said.

Kejriwal will move the Supreme Court on Friday seeking protection from any coercive action by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the excise policy case, sources said.

Kejriwal will seek an urgent hearing of his petition after the Delhi High Court refused to grant him interim protection on Thursday.

Kejriwal, also the national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), had moved the high court in the wake of the Enforcement Directorate's latest summons, the ninth issued by the probe agency, asking him to appear before it on Thursday.

Arvind Kejriwal is and will remain the Chief Minister of Delhi, says AAP's Atishi after his arrest. The case pertains to alleged corruption and money laundering in formulating and executing the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22, which was later scrapped.

Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was arrested in connection with the case in February last year, and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh was taken into custody in October. In a press note released after Ms Kavitha's arrest on Sunday, the ED had called Mr Kejriwal a conspirator in the alleged liquor policy scam.

"ED investigation revealed that Ms K Kavitha along with others conspired with the top leaders of AAP including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia for getting favours in the Delhi Excise policy formulation and implementation. In exchange for these favours, she was involved in paying ₹ 100 Crore to the leaders of AAP," the press note said.