New Delhi: Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who is in jail for his alleged involvement in the capital’s excise policy irregularities, has been for the first time named in the supplementary chargesheet filed by the Central Investigation Bureau (CBI) on Tuesday.
The chargesheet also mentions other accused Butchi Babu – auditor of Bharat Rashtra Samithi leader K. Kavitha – Arjun Pandey and Amandeep Dhal.
The Aam Aadmi Party leader was taken into custody by the CBI on 26 February and subsequently re-arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) next month for money-laundering in the same case.
The CBI and ED are probing allegations against Delhi’s AAP government – Manish Sisodia held the excise portfolio when the now-withdrawn 2021-22 excise policy was announced – for granting undue financial favours to vendors taking liquor licences, thereby causing losses of “over Rs 140 crore” to the exchequer, and receiving kickbacks in return for those favours, besides conniving with owners of several companies as part of a nexus.
Alleged irregularities included modifications in the excise policy, extension of undue favours to licensees like waivers and reduction in the licence fee, and extension of L-1 licence (granted to business entities having wholesale distribution experience in liquor trade) without prior approval.
CBI arrested Sisodia in February, after identifying him as “Accused No 1” in its FIR six months prior to that. Sisodia, however, was not named in the agency’s first chargesheet filed last November. The probe agency arrested him for alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the Delhi excise policy.
While he was in judicial custody, the ED arrested Sisodia on 9 March under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the alleged irregularities. The ED has not named Sisodia in any chargesheet yet.
The ED claims the liquor policy “prompted cartel formations through backdoor” and “incentivised other illegal activities” as part of a criminal conspiracy by top AAP leaders to extract kickbacks from liquor barons.
The agency said AAP’s media and communications in-charge Vijay Nair allegedly received Rs 100 crore from the “South Group” which comprised, among others, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader K. Kavitha, as advance kickbacks. This money — managed through “hawala channels” — was then used in the AAP’s poll campaign in Goa, the ED claimed.
On 16 April, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was questioned by the CBI for nearly nine hours. Thanking officers for their “hospitality”, Kejriwal had said: “The CBI asked around 56 questions regarding the excise policy, including when and why the policy was started… I want to say that the entire excise policy case is false. They do not have any evidence that the AAP is wrong. It’s a result of dirty politics.”
Also read: ‘Manish Sisodia destroyed phone,’ argues ED as court extends custody of AAP leader by 5 days