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Delhi excise policy case | Manish Sisodia and his close aide changed their phones 11 times, destroyed evidence: ED

Earlier in the day, the central agency arrested businessman Amit Arora in connection with its money laundering probe in the case.

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Days after filing the CBI file its first chargesheet in the Delhi excise policy scam case, which did not find a mention of Manish Sisodia, the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday alleged that the accused, including Delhi Deputy Chief Minister, changed their phones several times and destroyed evidence, reported India Today. 

Earlier in the day, the central agency arrested businessman Amit Arora in connection with its money laundering probe in the case.     

The ED told a Delhi court that Sisodia and Amit Arora had used and changed 11 phones, which it claimed were used during the period of the alleged liquor scam. It further accused the AAP leader and Arora of destroying evidence. 

“The magnitude of the destruction is such that most suspects, liquor barons, senior government officials, Excise Minister of Delhi (Manish Sisodia) and other suspects have changed their phones multiple times, where the approximate value of the devices used and destroyed comes to whooping sum of Rs. 1.38 crores approx,” the ED told Rouse Avenue court on Wednesday. 

The ED has been granted 7-day custody of Arora, a close associate of Sisodia. In its remand application, the ED claimed that Arora collected bribe of Rs 2.5 crore from one L-1 wholesaler in conspiracy and collusion with Dinesh Arora, another ‘close associate’ of Sisodia, as a portion of the kickback money that was to be paid by AAP leader Vijay Nair. 

In April-May 2022, Amit Arora arm twisted Mahadev Liqour with the help of Punjab State Government as well as Delhi Government to surrender their companies and thereafter to surrender their licence as they were not ready to pay the 6% kickbacks.

Along with the CBI, the ED also filed its chargesheet in the case last week, in naming arrested businessman Sameer Mahandru, his company Indospirit, and a few other entities. Both agencies are expected to file more such complaints before the court, as the investigation progresses.

Last week, the CBI filed its first chargesheet in the case against arrested businessmen Vijay Nair and Abhishek Boinpally and five more accused, keeping the probe open into the alleged role of others named in the FIR including Sisodia. The Delhi Deputy CM, named in the CBI FIR, does not figure in this charge sheet. 

Besides Sisodia, who holds the excise portfolio in the Delhi government, the CBI had 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 FIR filed on August 17.

In its FIR, the agency has alleged that Sisodia and other accused public servants recommended and took decisions pertaining to the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 without the approval of competent authority with "an intention to extend undue favours to the licensees post tender.

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