CBI raids on Sisodia: Pvt players named in complaint questioned | Latest News India

A few private individuals who supposedly played an active role in framing and implementing Delhi’s excise policy 2021-22 that regulates sale of liquor in the capital were interrogated by officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation on Saturday.

These private persons have been named in the August 17 first information report (FIR) pertaining to alleged irregularities in the policy, which implicates Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and excise department officials, people familiar with the development said on condition of anonymity.

The federal agency didn’t name the accused called for questioning.

The FIR names nine private persons — Dinesh Arora, a close associate of Sisodia; Manoj Rai, former employee of liquor maker Pernod Ricard; Sameer Mahendru, managing director of Jor Bagh-based Indospirit Group, a distributor; Amandeep Dhal, director of Brindco Sales Pvt Ltd, a wholesaler; Vijay Nair, former CEO of Mumbai-based event management company Only Much Louder who has worked with the Aam Aadmi Party for years; Amit Arora, director of Buddy Retail Private Ltd, a retailer; Sunny Marwah of Mahadev Liquors, a trading firm, also director in Ponty Chadha group firms; Telangana-based individual Arun Ramchandra Pillai; and a Gurugram resident Arjun Pandey — along with Sisodia and three excise officials.

Nair, Rai, Dhal and Mahendru were allegedly actively involved in framing and implementation of the excise policy, according to the FIR. The CBI wants to know whether they had free access to excise department offices and files, which is not permitted.

Sisodia and excise department officials will be soon called for questioning, an official said.

On Friday, the agency raided 31 places, including Sisodia’s residence, for almost 14 hours.

The excise scheme came under the scanner after Delhi lieutenant governor V K Saxena last month recommended a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the implementation of the excise policy of 2021-22.

Some of the private persons were into liquor vending and were major beneficiaries of the excise policy approved by Sisodia, while a few of them are being treated as middlemen, a CBI officer said.

The agency has claimed in the FIR that some of the L1 licence holders issued credit notes to retail vendors with the intention to divert funds as kickbacks to public servants. The L-1 licences are granted to a company or firm having licenced manufacturing units (distillery/brewery/winery/bottling plant).

The L1 licencees are being asked about the public servants who benefited from the policy, a second officer said.

The federal agency, while indirectly referring to corruption on part of Sisodia, has said that Amit Arora, Dinesh Arora and Pandey are his close associates and are “actively involved in managing and diverting the undue pecuniary advantage collected from liquor licencees to accused public servants.”

Being deputy chief minister and minister in-charge of the excise department, Sisodia has been charged with criminal conspiracy and under provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The agency is also probing as to who was to get a payment of ₹1 crore, transferred by Mahendru to Dinesh Arora, and another payment of ₹2-4 crore given to Pandey.