CBI files charge sheet in Delhi Excise policy scam case, say officials
NEW DELHI: The CBI has filed the first chargesheet in connection with its
investigation of alleged corruption in the Delhi government’s now-withdrawn excise policy. The chargesheet does not name deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, who is among those booked in the case.
Those named in the 10,000-odd-page chargesheet are businessmen Vijay Nair and Abhishek Boinpally, India Ahead News channel managing director Mootha Gautam, Hyderabad-based liquor businessman and a partner of Mr Boinpally in Robin Distilleries LLP Arun R. Pillai, owner of Indospirit Sameer Mahendru and two former officials of the excise department -- deputy commissioner Kuldeep Singh and assistant commissioner Narender Singh.
Mr Nair and Mr Boinpally were arrested by the CBI but recently granted bail by a special court. The two are still in custody in connection with the Enforcement Directorate case against them. The seven accused have been named in the CBI chargesheet under the Indian Penal Code Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and provisions of bribery under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The CBI has, however, kept the probe open related to the role of others, broader conspiracy with licensees, the money trail, cartelisation, and larger conspiracy in framing and executing the controversial excise policy in Delhi which was rolled back.
The probe agency has got an alleged “close associate” of Mr Sisodia -- Dinesh Arora -- to spill the beans by turning approver in the case. Mr Arora recorded his statement under Section 164 CrPC before a magistrate and was granted a pardon by a special court for helping in the investigation.
After his name was not mentioned in the chargesheet, Mr Sisodia, who was listed as “Accused No. 1” in the CBI’s FIR filed in August, demanded an apology from Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He said: “Modi ji should now stop hatching such a conspiracy against elected government”. Mr Sisodia demanded an apology from the Prime Minister and said: “Desh ka raja pradhan mantri jo CBI, ED ka durpayog kar ke vipaksh ke sarkar ko girane ki koshish karte hain, unhe bhi maafi mangni chaiye”.
The AAP leader also called for the resignation of Delhi lieutenant-governor Vinai Kumar Saxena. He said: “After months of investigation, the CBI has given a clean chit against me in the case. They raided my house, bank locker and even visited my village but could not find anything. They put 800 officers but couldn’t achieve anything. The CBI’s chargesheet now clearly shows that the BJP through its L-G and CS filed a false report to malign the name and show the
AAP government chosen by people of Delhi in a bad light. Now, Vinai Kumar Saxena should resign and strict action should be taken against chief secretary Naresh Kumar for defaming the Delhi government.”
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal too took the opportunity to back his deputy once more. He tweeted in Hindi: “Manish's name is not in the CBI chargesheet. The whole case is fake. Nothing was found in the raids. A total of 800 officers found nothing in the probe for four months. Manish offered hope of a good future to crores of poor children in the country through a revolution in education. I am sorry that a conspiracy was hatched to defame such a person by implicating
him in a false case.”
The CBI is probing allegations of serious violations in the AAP government’s new liquor policy for Delhi, which was withdrawn within six months. As part of the now revoked policy, liquor shop licenses were given to private players, allegedly known to AAP leaders. The ED also filed a money-laundering case following the CBI investigation.
The deputy chief minister, who oversaw the liquor policy, was raided by probe agencies in August and also questioned by the CBI. He has, till date, refuted all allegations of corruption or any illegal activity in working out the liquor policy.
The ruling AAP has accused the BJP at the Centre of using the Central probe agencies to target its leaders ahead of the Delhi civic polls and the coming Gujarat Assembly election, claiming that the AAP had begun to pose an electoral threat to the BJP in the polls.
After registering a case against 15 people in August this year, the CBI had carried out searches at various places. It is alleged the Delhi government's policy to grant licenses to liquor traders was influenced in favour of certain dealers who had allegedly paidbribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by Delhi's ruling AAP.
In addition to Mr Sisodia, who holds the excise portfolio in the Delhi government, the CBI has named the then excise commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna, the then deputy excise commissioner Anand Kumar Tiwari, assistant excise commissioner Pankaj Bhatnagar, nine businessmen and two companies as accused in the case.
The agency has alleged that Mr Sisodia and other accused public servants recommended and took decisions pertaining to the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 without the approval of the competent authority with “an intention to extend undue favours to the licensees post tender”.
