NEWS CHIDAMBARAM ARREST
NEW DELHI: Congress leader and former Union minister P Chidambaram was arrested on Wednesday night by CBI sleuths who climbed the walls of his Jor Bagh residence here to lay their hands on him in connection with the INX Media scam and bribery case.
Chidambaram was taken to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital for a medical check-up, before he was brought to the CBI guest house at the agency’s headquarters, where he would spend the night before interrogations begin on Thursday.
Chidambaram had earlier surfaced at the Congress party office to tell the media that he was not absconding as some reports said earlier in the day, but was closeted with his lawyers including former Union law minister Kapil Sibal to prepare his bail application before the Supreme Court. The SC meanwhile posted the plea for hearing on Friday. CBI sleuths who rushed to the Congress party office found Chidambaram had already left the place and headed back to his home.
When CBI men reached the gates, it was locked from inside. Attempts to get it opened from inside failed as no one was present there. Three CBI sleuths then scaled the wall, got inside, and broke open the gate, allowing other cops too enter. The arrest of Chidambaram followed.
Meanwhile, the Congress party protested the action against Chidambaram, who is now an MP, and previously held the posts of Union finance and home ministers. Party leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi said the governmental action amounted to persecution of a senior party leader. IHN-NN
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