CBI arrests former Finance Minister P Chidambaram in INX Media case

After finding the front entrance closed, the team of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) thumped at the gate and then scaled the wall of his house on Wednesday night to enter inside the residence.

According to reports, he has been now taken to the CBI headquarters for questioning.

Meanwhile, several Congress activists assembled outside Chidambaram's residence to prevent the arrest.

Earlier in the evening, the senior Congress leader appeared at the Congress headquarters and said that he was not hiding from the law but was seeking legal protection.

The former Finance Minister, who is accused in connection with the INX media case, said he was in meeting throughout the day with lawyers.

"All we wanted is a hearing. No one is running away," he told media.

Denying all the charges levelled against him, Chidambaram said: "These are pathological lies."

"I was aghast that I was accused of hiding from the law. On the contrary, I was engaged in pursuit of justice," he said during the press conference at the party office.

"Now I shall walk with a clear conscience and head held high. In the name of freedom, I can only hope and pray that investigative agencies will respect the law," he stated.

Chidambaram said he has all faith in the law and will await the decision of the Supreme Court.

"Between now and Friday I shall respect the law. Respect of law means awaiting the decision of the Supreme Court," said the senior Congress leader.

A lookout notice was earlier issued by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for Chidambaram.

Chidambaram was found unavailable since the CBI and Enforcement Directorate (ED) reached his residence after the Delhi High Court rejected an anticipatory bail to the politician on Tuesday.

The central probe agency had registered the PMLA case on the basis of a CBI FIR and had alleged irregularities in the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) clearance to INX Media for receiving overseas funds to the tune of Rs. 305 crore in 2007, when P Chidambaram was the Finance Minister.