Loud cheers, flowers welcome Kejriwal as he steps out of Tihar

New Delhi: Amid loud cheers, ‘dhol’ beats and sloganeering, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal stepped out of the Tihar jail’s gate number 4 here Friday after the Supreme Court granted him interim bail till June 1.

Visuals were the same outside Kejriwal’s house, where the people eagerly waited for him to get released from the custody. As the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener reached home, fire crackers were burst by the party workers to celebrate his release from the jail.

Preparations for a grand welcome were made with flower blowers placed outside his residence’s entrance to shower him with petals when he reached there. The party workers were in action decorating the house with garlands and creating wedding-like festivities. The AAP workers and supporters had gathered outside the Tihar jail anticipating that he will be coming out from gate number 3. As Kejriwal enjoys Z+ security, the security personnel took him out from jail number 2 in his official convoy after his release. AAP leader Sandeep Pathak was seen sitting in the same vehicle and he waved his hand towards the supporters as the convoy passed through.

The convoy was stopped and Kejriwal came out of his vehicle waving towards the public. Addressing them he said, “I had told you, I will come out soon... I want to thank the Supreme Court judges for granting me interim bail and crores of people for their blessings.”

He was released after staying nearly 50 days in judicial custody. Kejriwal’s wife Sunita Kejriwal and daughter, along with several senior AAP leaders including Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and ministerial colleagues Atishi and Saurabh Bharadwaj among others were present outside the jail to welcome him.

However, the AAP was making constant announcement on the microphone asking the party workers not to jam the pavement and cause traffic chaos on the road.

Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the excise policy-linked money laundering case.

The AAP workers and supporters gathered in large numbers outside the Tihar jail to watch Kejriwal come out of the jail after the relief from the Supreme Court.

A sea of yellow and blue flags were seen floating in the air with slogans like “Jail ke taale toot gaye, Kejriwal ji chhoot gaye” renting the air.