Lt Governor suggests NIA probe against Arvind Kejriwal over ‘Khalistani funding’

Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena has recommended a NIA probe into allegations that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP government received funding from 'Sikhs for Justice', a banned US-based Khalistani group.

AAP leader and Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj vehemently denied the allegations and said it was "another conspiracy" against Kejriwal.

The allegations - the latest in a long-running and fierce war between the AAP and the Bharatiya Janata Party in power at the centre - come less than three weeks before the national capital votes in the general election.

According to the Lt Governor's Secretariat, Saxena had received a complaint that AAP had received USD 16 million from pro-Khalistani groups for facilitating the release of 1993 Delhi blasts convict and terrorist Devendra Pal Bhullar and espousing pro-Khalistani sentiments.

He said that since the complaint was made against a Chief Minister and related to political funding received from a banned outfit, "the electronic evidence adduced by the complainant requires investigation, including forensic examination".

The Lt Governor has also referred to the Ministry of Home Affairs, a letter written by Kejriwal to one Iqbal Singh in January 2014, mentioning that "the AAP government has already recommended to the President the release of Bhullar and would be working on other issues, including the formation of SIT, sympathetically and in a time-bound manner".

Iqbal Singh was sitting on a fast at Jantar Mantar, demanding written assurance for the release of Bhullar. He ended his fast after receiving the letter from Kejriwal.

The complaint refers to a video released by Sikhs for Justice chief and wanted Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, wherein he has alleged that AAP received USD 16 million from Khalistani groups between 2014 and 2022.

It has also been alleged that Kejriwal held closed-door meetings with Khalistani leaders at Gurudwara Richmond Hills, New York during his visit in 2014. Kejriwal had allegedly promised to facilitate the release of Bhullar in return for substantial financial backing from Khalistani factions to AAP, the Lt Governor's office claimed.

In a series of posts on social media, Dr Munish Kumar Raizada, a former AAP worker, shared the pictures of Kejriwal's said meeting with the Khalistani leaders.

Kejriwal is presently in judicial custody and has been lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail since April 1 in connection with a money laundering case-linked Delhi liquor policy case. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 21.