The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has begun raids across multiple locations spread across the national capital and five other states of the country on Tuesday morning as part of a money laundering investigation into alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy, officials said. However, the raids are being conducted in 35 places, excluding Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's house, in Delhi.
The central probe body said, "We are conducting raids in Lucknow in UP, Gurugram in Haryana, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Hyderabad, and other locations. The searches, which started early this morning, are underway."
Reacting to the ED searches, Manish Sisodia said, "First the CBI conducted raids, they found nothing. Now, the ED is conducting raids, they too won’t find anything. This is an attempt to stop the good work being done by Arvind Kejriwal. Let them use CBI, ED, they can't stop our work. I don’t have any information, they will only find more blueprints of schools."
The ED is conducting a raid at the residences of several people who have been allegedly involved in the liquor trade in the country including the ones who recently drafted the new excise policy in Delhi.
What is the liquor case?
The ED raid is based on the FIR filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), last month, which named Manish Sisodia as the main accused.
The CBI's FIR has been lodged under sections 120-B (Criminal Conspiracy) and 477-A (Falsification of accounts) of the IPC. The allegations against him are that liquor businessmen were allegedly given an exemption of Rs 30 crore. The licence holders were allegedly given extensions according to their own will. The policy rules were made by violating excise rules.
The CBI had conducted raids in the case on August 19, covering the Delhi residences of Sisodia (50), IAS officer and former Delhi excise commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna, and 19 other locations across seven states and Union Territories.
Sisodia holds multiple portfolios in the Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government including excise and education.
Sisodia is among the 15 persons accused by the CBI in its FIR into the case. The CBI had earlier shared the copy of its FIR with the ED and ED was reported to be examining the case. It is expected that the CBI would pursue the criminal aspects of the case and the ED would follow the money trail.
The case pertains to the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. It was implemented in November last year and was scrapped on July 30 after Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena recommended a CBI inquiry into alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the policy.
It is alleged that kickbacks and commissions were involved in the making and implementation of the policy and certain license-holders were given undue advantage. It is also alleged that people in the liquor business were "actively involved in irregularities in framing and implementation of excise policy".
Besides, it has also alleged the liquor businessmen were given exemption of Rs 30 crore, while the licence holders were given extension as per their own will.
(with PTI inputs)
