Delhi excise scam: After CBI, now ED arrests Manish Sisodia
A day before the bail petition arguments to start in the CBI registered case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday arrested AAP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on money laundering charges in connection with irregularities in the Delhi excise policy. The 51-year-old was placed under arrest under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) following his second round of questioning at the Tihar jail.
Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation on February 26 and placed in judicial custody till March 20. The Court is scheduled to hear his bail petition on Friday (March 10). The ED’s arrest is expected to make more jail days for Sisodia, the trusted man of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Delhi’s former Health Minister Satyendra Jain is also languishing in jail for the past nine months for money laundering charges.
The ED said Sisodia was “evasive” in his replies and was “not cooperating in the probe” and hence was arrested. The agency is expected to obtain a production warrant from a special PMLA court and then produce him before it on Friday seeking his custody for interrogation. The first round of Sisodia’s questioning by the ED took place on March 7 by a three-member team that obtained the court’s permission to question Sisodia during his judicial custody period.
If the ED gets his custody, he will be taken to the agency’s headquarters in central Delhi for questioning and further recording of his statement and confrontation with other accused, even if he gets bail in the CBI case on Friday. The agency is understood to have questioned him in jail about the alleged change and destruction of cellphones that were in his possession and the policy decisions and the timeline followed by him as the then excise minister of Delhi. These charges were made by it in its charge sheets filed before the court.
The ED is learned to have posed a specific query as to how the excise policy draft was allegedly available to liquor traders and purported cartels even before it was officially published by the excise department of the Delhi government. The ED informed the court through its charge sheet that its probe found that at least 36 accused, including Sisodia, “destroyed, used or changed” 170 phones to conceal evidence of “kickbacks” worth thousands of crores rupees in the alleged scam.
The agency had also named Sisodia’s boss and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in the second charge sheet filed in the case early this year, claiming that C Arvind, a DANICS officer who was earlier secretary to Sisodia, recorded his statement under the PMLA, saying he was given the GoM report on the excise policy in the middle of March 2021 when he was called by his boss (Sisodia) to the residence of Kejriwal.
The ED charged that the Delhi government’s excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licenses to liquor traders allowed cartelization and favoured certain dealers, who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the AAP. The policy was later scrapped and the Delhi lieutenant governor recommended a CBI probe, following which the ED booked a case against the same accused under the PMLA.
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Kavita, If you are not guilty why cry and make all these drama? Didn’t your partner subject Modi to multiple, relentless questionings? Did he ever complain? He faced each one of them and came out clean. Your drama reveals the whole story of your hand in the cookie jar to the public. You might come caught free due to deep state, but remember Karma eventually catches up with you, if not you, your children and grand children.
Let’s hope it’s not witch hunt and CBI & ED will make fool proof case against the people involved. Kejaruddin is Charle Sobharaj of Indian politics and should also be behind the bars soon.
His own deeds (karma) lead to this situation. Why blame BJP or any others ?
Same with Kavita – Telangana bidda. Suddenly woke up from nightmare dream to changes required in law, society, location, place, banking system….etc., & then slowly walking into real nightmare.
Kavita forgot that Children have right to inherit property and also bad karma of their parents. Why cry on it ?
CBI & ED should come to Kavita’s house for questioning for it is sin on them to ask a lady to come to their office !! What a logic ? Is she working from home ? Will the bank also to banking transactions from her home ? Who is she ? Ram or Ravaan or Brahmasur ki beti ?
Low & cheap characters getting elected. She lost MP elections, got MLC through backdoor support.
Admit & accept mistakes & move ahead & be a model lady for others to get inspiration. Return the unethically earned income with double interest and live a guilt free life.
These thick skinned people are in politics for easy money only and can never be reformed. India was reduced to banana republic by Khangress but Modi has made the difference. Let such people rot.
Where is the money trail ? A smart crook will try to avoid being caught, using every trick in the trade, the courts need to get out of the “NOBODY KILLED JESICA” syndrome and apply the reasonability in “BEYOND REASONABLE DOUBT” not defined by highly paid lawyers. If the outcome of corruption or crime is obvious do not know if allowing concessions under technicalities or procedures is fair to victim.