Karti Chidambaram sent to one-day police custody hours after arrest

The Patiala House Court in Delhi on Wednesday sent Congress leader Karti Chidambaram to one-day police custody. This came hours after the Congress leader was arrested at Chennai airport by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), and later produced before the court in Delhi.

The court ordered the custody of Karti after the CBI argued in the court that the Congress leader has been “evasive in his replies and investigation”. The CBI further said, “He made incorrect statements with respect to evidence. All this delays the conclusion of investigation.”

Responding to this, Congress leader and lawyer Abhishek Manu Singhvi, who appeared for Karti, termed the allegations by the CBI as bizarre. Alleging that the arrest is motivated, he said, "He hasn't been given a single summon in last six months." Dismissing allegations made by CBI that he is not cooperating, Singhvi pointed that the last summon issued against Karti was in August 2017.

Karti Chidambaram, son for former home minister and veteran Congress leader P Chidambaram, was arrested from Chennai Airport soon after his flight from United Kingdom landed in the Tamil Nadu capital. He had been on a visit to the United Kingdom, specifically his alma mater at Cambridge University. He had sought permission from the Madras High Court last week to travel abroad.

His arrest triggered a war of words between the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party, with the former alleging vendetta. The BJP, however, asserted that the Congress leader’s arrest was straightforward.

Sources in the BJP were quoted as saying that there is nothing surprising about Karti's arrest, and that the case against him was 'open and shut'. They said the investigation agencies were only doing their job. "Politics should not be done. This is a legal matter. No one is bigger than the Constitution," said BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra.

The Congress, meanwhile, said that it would not be deterred with the vendetta against Chidambaram and his family. Party spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala said, "Congress will not be deterred by unleashing of vendetta against P Chidambaram and his family. We will continue to bring out the truth."