Arvind Kejriwal, chief minister of Delhi and a longtime anti-corruption advocate in India, was arrested Thursday by the country’s financial crime agency, accused of accepting $12 million in bribes from liquor contractors when allocating liquor licenses.
Other ministers were included in the allegations, and two of Kejriwal’s top allies have been jailed.
Before being arrested on Thursday night, Kejriwal was questioned for hours at his home.
Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party, or the Common People's Party, will oppose Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party in upcoming elections.
Kejriwal has served as chief minister for nine years. He grew his base of supporters as a corruption crusader, swearing to fight what many see as a government ridden with political graft.
Atishi Singh, minister of education and a leader of the AAP, denied the accusations and said the federal agency that arrested Kejriwal fabricated the claims. She added that while the party fights the accusations, Kejriwal will still be chief minister and that her party will appeal to the Supreme Court to retract the arrest.
Singh said that because the investigation is still underway, Kejriwal should have been questioned but not arrested.
According to a government lawyer, the federal agency summoned Kejriwal nine times for questioning in recent months, but he skipped each summons, claiming he was too busy with political work.
Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Kejriwal's lawyer, said Modi was misusing the investigating agency, telling the court on Thursday that the move was intended to weaken his client's party ahead of elections, which will start next month.
Kejriwal is set to appear in court on Friday, where local media said his charges would be made public.
Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse and The Associated Press.
