In a surprising turn of event, former finance minister P Chidambaram spent his Wednesday night at the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) headquarters in Delhi which he along with then PM Manmohan Singh had inaugurated on June 30, 2011.

He was taken to the CBI headquarters after he was arrested by the agency officials in a dramatic move late last night.

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Chidambaram was the Home Minister and had attended the inauguration of the building by Manmohan Singh as a special guest.

Officials of the CBI scaled the walls of his Jor Bagh residence in Delhi, minutes after his press conference at the party headquarters where Chidambaram said he was “not hiding from the law but seeking the protection of the law”.

After the press conference, as soon as Chidambaram returned to his house, officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate were present at his house, a 10-minute drive away from Akbar Road, only to find the gate locked. CBI officers then jumped over the boundary wall while another team of agency officials entered the house from the back door.

Delhi Police personnel blocked access to Chidambaram’s house, even as milling media persons tried to get a better view of the happenings inside.

Later, a CBI team arrived in a car to take the senior Congress leader into custody.

The entire operation was swiftly executed within half an hour of his arrival in Jor Bagh.

Once inside, the CBI team completed the formalities of Chidambaram’s arrest in the presence of his team of lawyers.

Chidambaram was driven to the CBI headquarters in a white car, with him seated in the middle and CBI personnel on either side.