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Day before bail hearing, Sisodia arrested by ED
NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday arrested former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on money laundering charges in connection with alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22, people aware of the development said.
Sisodia is currently lodged in Tihar jail after he was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 26 for alleged corruption in the excise case. His arrest by ED, under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), came a day before the hearing of his bail plea before a CBI court on Friday.
Sisodia, the people quoted above said, was arrested inside Tihar jail and will be produced before a special court on Friday, where ED will seek his formal custody. Officials from the federal anti-money laundering agency alleged that Sisodia was “evasive in his replies” during his seven-hour questioning, and that he was “not cooperating’ with the probe team.
“The arrest and custody will allow us sustained interrogation about various aspects of the policy at the ED headquarters,” said an officer, who asked not to be named.
Sisodia and the AAP have consistently dismissed the charges and described the probe as a politically motivated witch-hunt
People familiar with Sisodia’s interrogation said the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader was quizzed about various aspects of the case, including the alleged destruction of evidence (he allegedly changed phones frequently), changing profit margin for wholesalers from 5% to an “unprecedented” 12%, kickbacks
HT Correspondent
NEW DELHI: Former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, currently lodged in Tihar jail, has accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of targeting opposition leaders by threatening them with imprisonment.
Sisodia, in a handwritten note written inside prison and released by his lawyer, said, “I have always wondered why [reforming] education was always ignored by the political dispensations of the country. In the past few days in jail, I can visualise the answers. It is easy to put opposing voices in jail. Running administration by putting all voices rising against [the government] in jail, or threatening to put such voices in jail, is easier than opening good schools and colleges... When jails are ensuring success in politics, why would someone feel the need for schools?”
HT has seen a copy of the
paid by the alleged “South Group” to Vijay Nair on behalf of AAP leaders and about the decision to change policy related Group of Ministers (GoM) report.
“We are currently focusing on the larger conspiracy and the money trail,” said another official, on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) leader and Telangana MLC K Kavitha, who was scheduled to appear before ED note initialled by the AAP leader.
He said, “The problem with the politics of education is that it makes the country stronger, not the ruling party. It is clearly visible who is working to make the country stronger and who is working to make themselves stronger.”
Hitting back, the BJP said Sisodia should respond to the charges against him.
on Thursday in connection with the case, said she will present herself before the agency on March 11.
“I will be appearing before ED in New Delhi on March 11, 2023”, she tweeted on Wednesday.
People familiar with the development said they have accepted her request.
Kavitha, the daughter of Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, landed in the national capital on Thursday.
Earlier this week, the BRS leader said she will fully cooperate with the agency but will seek legal opinion on the date of deposition in view of her proposed dharna in Delhi on March 10 in support of the women’s reservation bill.
Kavitha said, “These tactics of intimidation against the fight of my father and chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, and the BRS will not deter us.”
ED is expected to confront her with Arun Ramachandra Pillai, who allegedly represented Kavitha’s interests in the South Group and was arrested on Tuesday.
The federal agency has claimed that Pillai represented the benami investments of Kavitha. He was allegedly actively involved in cartel formation and was an accomplice in kickbacks from the South Group to the tune of ₹100 crore to the AAP.
The Delhi government’s 2021-22 excise policy aimed to revitalise the city’s flagging liquor business. It aimed to replace a sales-volume based regime with a licence fee-based one for traders, and promised swankier stores, free of the infamous metal grilles, ultimately giving customers a better buying experience. The policy also introduced discounts and offers on the purchase of liquor, a first for Delhi.
The plan, however, came to an abrupt end, with lieutenant governor VK Saxena recommending a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the regime. This ultimately resulted in the policy being scrapped prematurely and being replaced by the 2020-21 regime, with the AAP alleging that Saxena’s predecessor sabotaged the move with a few last-minute changes that resulted in lower-than-expected revenues.