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New Delhi: The CBI on Friday filed its first chargesheet against seven accused, including two businessmen, arrested in the Delhi Excise Policy scam case, officials said.
Apart from the two arrested businessmen, those named in the chargesheet include the head of a news channel, a Hyderabad-based liquor dealer, a Delhi-based liquor distributor and two excise department officials.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, named in the CBI FIR, is not in the current chargesheet filed within 60 days of the investigation agency’s investigation.
The accused have been charged under IPC Section 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and bribery provisions under the Prevention of Corruption Act, officials said.
The agency has kept open the probe into the role of others, larger conspiracy with licensees, money trail, cartelization and larger conspiracy to formulate and implement the controversial excise policy in the national capital which was brought back.
The Central Bureau of Investigation found an alleged “close aide” of Sisodia – Dinesh Arora – to spill the beans by becoming an approver in the case, they said.
Arora recorded her statement under Section 164 of the CrPC before a magistrate and was pardoned by a special court to assist in the investigation.
The CBI, after registering a case against 15 people in August this year, conducted searches at various places.
It is alleged that the Delhi government’s policy to grant licenses to liquor dealers was swayed in favor of certain dealers who allegedly paid bribes for it, allegations strongly denied by Delhi’s ruling Aam Aadmi Party, they said.
Apart from Sisodia, who is in the Delhi government’s excise portfolio, the CBI has also charged then Excise Commissioner Arav Gopi Krishna, then Deputy Excise Commissioner Anand Kumar Tiwari, Assistant Excise Commissioner Pankaj Bhatnagar, nine businessmen and two companies in the case. .
The agency alleged that Sisodia and other accused public servants made recommendations and decisions regarding the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 without the approval of the competent authority “with the intention of extending undue favor to the licensees after the tender”.
The agency alleged that Amit Arora, Dinesh Arora and Arjun Pandey, directors of Gurgaon-based Buddy Retail Pvt Ltd, were “close associates” of Sisodia and “actively involved in managing and diverting undue financial benefits collected from liquor licenses” to the accused government employees. .
The CBI alleged that Radha Industries headed by Dinesh Arora received Rs 1 crore from Sameer Mahendru of Indospirits.
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