Manish Sisodia, others changed 140 phones to destroy proof: ED

New Delhi, November 10

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The ED today informed a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court here that the Delhi excise policy, scrapped following allegations of corruption, was allegedly leaked to certain liquor manufacturers much before its release.

The ED claimed it found in the probe that 34 important persons involved or suspected to be involved in the excise scam allegedly changed total 140 phones (valued at about Rs 1.20 crore) with the intention to destroy digital evidence during relevant period.

“These VIPs include all the main accused, liquor barons, senior government officials, Delhi Excise Minister and other suspects. The timing indicates that these phones were mostly changed after the scam surfaced,” it said.

Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia held the excise charge when the phones were allegedly destroyed. The agency made the submissions while seeking the remand of two arrested accused, Benoy Babu, Delhi regional head of French wine company Pernod Ricard, and P Sarath Chandra Reddy, whole-time director of Aurobindo Pharma Ltd. 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 ED alleged Delhi Government or the excise department under the influence of the accused persons allowed the formation as well as operation of cartels even when enough information was available on public platforms to indicate cartelisation by majority of the licence holders.