NEW DELHI: In a move that is bound to escalate Aam Aadmi Party’s face-off with the Centre, the CBI has booked Delhi’s deputy chief minister, Manish Sisodia, and conducted searches at his office and residence through Friday in connection with its probe into alleged irregularities in framing and implementing the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. The policy will not be in force from September 1. While the FIR names Sisodia as the top accused, 14 others – including former excise commissioner Arva Gopi Krishna and 10 liquor licensees and middlemen – have also been named as accused. The FIR was filed after receiving sanction from the ministry of home affairs on August 17. On Friday, CBI teams raided 31 places in Delhi, Gurugram, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Lucknow and Bengaluru and claimed to have recovered “incriminating” documents, articles and digital records. Hours after the raid, Sisodia said his mobile phone and computer had been seized. “We are hardcore honest and do not fear any raid,” he said. CBI’s FIR in its excise police probe has alleged that the illegal gains on account of various irregularities were diverted to public servants by private parties by making false entries in their books of accounts. The agency will soon send out summons asking the accused to join the investigation. The agency is investigating aspects like alleged irregularities in modifications in the excise policy, extension of undue favours to the licensees, waiver of or reduction in licence fee, extension of L-1 licence without approval, profit margin on foreign liquor and reduction in number of dry days etc. The FIR quotes an office memorandum received from the lieutenant governor of Delhi, Vinay Saxena, disclosing that deputy CM Manish Sisodia, excise commissioner Krishna, deputy commissioner Anand Tiwari and assistant commissioner Pankaj Bhatnagar – all named in the FIR – were instrumental in recommending and taking decisions pertaining to the excise policy without the approval of the competent authority with an intention to extend undue favours to the licensees after the tendering process was over. Other accused include Vijay Nair, a known figure in AAP circles, and liquor traders, some of them well-known names in the business. “Reliable sources have revealed that Vijay Nair, former CEO of Only Much Louder, an entertainment and event management company; Manoj Rai, ex-employee of Pernod Ricard; Amandeep Dhal, owner of Brindco Spirits; and Sameer Mahendru, owner of Indo Spirits, were actively involved in the irregularities in framing and implementation of the excise policy,” says the FIR. According to the FIR, some of the L-1 licence holders were issuing credit notes to the retail vendors with an ab initio intention to divert funds for giving an undue pecuniary advantage to public servants even as they made false entries in their books of accounts to keep their record straight. “Three other accused named in the FIR – Amit Arora, director of Buddy Retail Pvt. Limited, Dinesh Arora and Arjun Pandey – were close associates of Manish Sisodia and actively involved in managing and diverting the undue pecuniary advantage collected from liquor licensees to the accused public servants,” reads the FIR. Sameer Mahendru, MD of Indospirits, transferred Rs 1 crore to the account of Radha Industries which is managed by Dinesh Arora, says the FIR. According to CBI, one Arun Ramchandra Pillai used to collect undue pecuniary advantage from Mahendru for onward transmission to the accused public servants through Vijay Nair. “A person named Arjun Pandey once collected a huge cash amount of about Rs 2-4 crore from Mahendru on behalf of Nair,” the FIR alleges. The FIR mentions that one Mahadev Liquors, a proprietorship firm, was granted an L-1 licence with one Sunny Marwah being the authorised signatory. Marwah is also a director in companies being managed by the family of late liquor baron Ponty Chadha. Marwah, CBI said it has been informed, was in close contact with the accused public servants and had been regularly giving undue pecuniary advantage to them. “These facts prima facie disclose commission of offences punishable under sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 477A (falsification of records) of the IPC and section 7 of Prevention of Corruption Act. Hence, a regular case is registered and the investigation of the case is entrusted to DSP Alok Kumar Shahi from the anti-corruption bureau,” the FIR states.
Source: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/capital-shaken-and-stirred-by-excise-raids/articleshow/93668196.cms
