Hindustan Times (Delhi)

2 more arrests in Delhi excise case

- Neeraj Chauhan letters@hindustant­imes.com

NEW DELHI: The Enforcemen­t Directorat­e (ED) on Thursday claimed after arresting Aurobindo Pharma’s promoter P Sarath Chandra Reddy and wine and spirits company Pernod Ricard’s senior executive Benoy Babu that the details of excise policy 2021-22 were leaked to certain manufactur­ers at least 45 days before they were made public.

The federal anti-money laundering agency further claimed that 34 “important persons” including Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, liquor barons, and senior government officials changed 140 mobile phones (worth ₹1.20 crore) with an intention to destroy the digital evidence.

An Aam Aadmi Party spokespers­on declined to comment on ED’S charges.

The agency arrested Reddy, whole time director of Telangana

based Aurobindo Pharma Ltd, and Babu, regional head of the French wine company, on Wednesday night. It has claimed that Reddy is one of the “kingpins” and a “major beneficiar­y” of the excise policy scam and was controllin­g a tota of nine retail liquor zones in Delhi for a group company (five zones) and other members of the cartel (four zones).

Under the now scrapped 2021 policy, Delhi was divided into 32 zones. “The excise policy was leaked to certain liquor manufactur­er (s) much before it was released. It has been found that the policy was made public on the excise department website on July 5, 2021. However, ED has evidence in its possession indicating the policy and many other related documents have been leaked to certain manufactur­er (s) on May 31, 2021,” the agency claimed in its remand note while seeking custody of Reddy and Babu.

“All 34 important persons

Psuspected to be involved have changed total 140 mobile phones (valued at ₹1.20 crore) with an intention to destroy digital evidence during relevant period. These persons include all main accused, liquor barons, senior government officials, excise minister of Delhi (Sisodia) and other suspects. The timing of change of phone indicates that these phones were mostly changed just after the scam surfaced,” ED added.

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 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 Delhi’s lieutenant governor Vinai Kumar 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 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleging that Saxena’s predecesso­r sabotaged the move with a few last-minute changes that resulted in lower-than-expected revenues.

In August, CBI in its FIR listed Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia as an accused in the case. So far, five arrests have been made in the case--three by ED, and two by CBI. Sisodia and the Aam Aadmi Party have dismissed the probe as a politicall­y motivated witch-hunt.

Aurobindo Pharma informed the stock exchange that Reddy was “not in any way connected with the operations of Aurobindo Pharma Limited or its subsidiari­es”. “The Company learnt that P. Sarath Chandra Reddy, Whole Time Director/promoter Group of the Company has been arrested by Enforcemen­t Directorat­e. The Company is in the process of ascertaini­ng further details and will do further disclosure­s as appropriat­e,” Aurobindo Pharma said in a regulatory filing. Aurobindo makes a range of medicines from antibacter­ials to antidepres­sants.

Pernod Ricard did not respond to a query seeking comment.

ED has evidence indicating the policy and many other related documents were leaked to certain manufactur­er (s). ENFORCEMEN­T DIRECTORAT­E

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