The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday questioned the personal assistant (PA) of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the Delhi Excise Policy case.
The ED is investigating a money laundering case over alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of now-withdrawn Delhi Excise Policy. Sisodia, who holds the excise portfolio in Delhi Cabinet, is among the accused in the case.
The ED is questioning Devendra Sharma and recording his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), said officials.
Sisodia claimed in a tweet the ED foisted a "false" case against him after which it raided his PA's house and "arrested" him.
The ED has conducted multiple raids in this case so far. In September, it arrested Sameer Mahandru, managing director of a liquor manufacturing company named Indospirit.
The ED's money laundering case stems from a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) FIR that had named Sisodia as an accused among others. The CBI had raided the premises of the deputy chief minister and some Delhi government bureaucrats after filing the case.
The case pertains to the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. It was scrapped on July 30 after Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena recommended a CBI inquiry into the alleged irregularities in the policy.
The policy was implemented on November 17 2021. Under the policy, Delhi was divided into 32 excise zones and retail liquor licenses were issued to private players for 849 vends. It marked the exit of government from liquor business in Delhi.
It's alleged that there are violations of rules and procedural lapses in the formulation and implementation of the Excise Policy 2021-22.
Kumar's report alleged that Sisodia provided undue benefits to liquor vend licensees in lieu of "kickbacks" and "commissions" that were allegedly used by AAP in the Punjab Assembly elections in February, reported The Indian Express.
(With PTI inputs)
