CBI raids at Manish Sisodia's house, 20 other places in excise policy case

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, August 19

The CBI is conducting raids at 21 locations across Delhi-NCR, including the official residences of Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and IAS officer Arava Gopi Krishna, in connection with the Delhi excise policy case, officials said on Friday.

The officials said the decision was taken after the CBI registered an FIR in the case following a Preliminary Enquiry into the alleged irregularities in formulation and execution of the Delhi Excise Policy brought in November last year.    

During the search operation, the CBI teams reached 21 locations, including the premises of four public servants, including Sisodia and former Excise Commissioner Krishna, a 2012-batch IAS officer from the AGMUT cadre, they said. 

Delhi L-G VK Saxena had recommended a CBI probe into the Kejriwal government’s Excise Policy, 2021-22, over alleged violations of rules and procedural lapses.

The CBI inquiry was recommended on the Delhi Chief Secretary’s report filed in July, showing prima facie violations of the GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR)-1993, Delhi Excise Act-2009 and Delhi Excise Rules-2010, they said.

As the raiding team reached his residence, Sisodia in a series of tweets in Hindi, said the CBI is welcome and asserted that the truth would come out. He said these people are troubled because of the excellent work done by the Delhi government in health and education sectors.

That is why ministers of both departments are “targeted” to stop them from good work in health and education sectors, he said, adding, “The allegations against both of us are lies. Truth will come out in court, as we are ‘kattar imandaar’.”

Delhi Health Minister Satyendar Jain was earlier arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with a money-laundering case.

Reacting to the development, senior BJP leader and Union minister Anurag Thakur said, “Arvind Kejriwal should stop treating people as fools and should stop addressing the people of the country. The Delhi CM did not even suspend Satyendar Jain when he went to jail. AAP, Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia’s real face has come in front of the public today.”

Thakur said, “No matter how hard a corrupt person tries to prove himself innocent, he will still remain corrupt. This is not the first case of corruption by AAP. There has been huge corruption in the liquor stores in Delhi.”

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