The CBI’s FIR on violations of the liquor policy lists Manish Sisodia, the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, as the first offender.
The 11-page document lists the following offences: corruption, criminal conspiracy, and account falsification.
Excise Minister Mr. Sisodia has vehemently denied any misconduct. The leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, has solidly endorsed his deputy.
Former Excise Commissioner A Gopi Krishna, Deputy Commissioner Anand Tiwari, and Assistant Commissioner Pankaj Bhatnagar are the three officers named in the FIR.
According to the CBI, middlemen and alcohol distributors “actively participated in irregularities in the framing and implementation” of the excise policy.
Amit Arora, Dinesh Arora, and Arjun Pandey, according to the agency, were “close associates of Mr. Sisodia” who allegedly obtained “commission” from licence holders of alcoholic beverages and gave it to “the accused public workers.”
Delhi Dy CM Manish Sisodia among 15 persons booked by name in FIR filed by CBI. Excise officials, liquor company executives, dealers along with unknown public servants & private persons have too been booked in the case (addresses omitted, previous tweet had personal information) pic.twitter.com/44L12CmHNn
— ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2022
According to the FIR, a liquor seller gave a business run by Dinesh Arora one million rupees. Arjun Pandey, another associate, received 2-4 crores from the same trader, Sameer Mahendru of Indospirits.
According to the CBI, Mr. Sisodia imposed the new rule about who could sell alcohol in Delhi without the Lieutenant Governor’s consent, who serves as the center’s representative in Delhi. After an investigation was revealed, the new policy was rescinded on July 30. It had been adopted in November.
A reference from Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, who had suggested a CBI investigation into the alcohol policy, served as the foundation for the FIR.
This morning, the CBI conducted raids on Mr. Sisodia, the AAP’s second-highest ranking official after Arvind Kejriwal.
The front-page mention of Mr. Sisodia in the New York Times on Thursday apparently infuriated the Center, according to AAP, who claims that Mr. Sisodia is being targeted.
The BJP, according to the party, is employing investigation agencies to harass AAP because it is concerned that Mr. Kejriwal may wind up being the major opponent for Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the 2024 election.
