Punjab Excise Commissioner Varun Roojam ‘appears’ before ED in 2022 excise policy case

Ruchika M Khanna

Chandigarh, March 28

A day after the residence of Punjab Excise Commissioner Varun Roojam was searched by the sleuths of Directorate of Enforcement, in the guava orchard scam, he reportedly appeared before the ED in the case of Punjab Excise Policy.

Highly placed sources in the government confirmed that Roojam appeared before the ED in Delhi today, where he was reportedly questioned about the making of the Punjab Excise Policy of 2022.

Though this is not the first time that Roojam has been questioned by ED, the timing of his questioning has raised the heckles in the government. After Roojam’s residence was searched for 16 hours on Wednesday in the guava orchard scam, there have been apprehensions in the AAP government here that he would be pressurised to become a witness / approver in the excise policy case.

Sources in the government say that the other two officers involved in the framing of the policy in 2022 (Additional Chief Secretary KAP Sinha and Joint Commissioner Excise Naresh Dubey) have also been asked to appear before the ED.

It is alleged that two liquor wholesale companies, whose name has come up in the Delhi Excise Policy scam, were also given L1 licences in Punjab. It is also alleged that they were present at the residence of the then Delhi Dy CM Manish Sisodia, when the policy was framed. The owner of a big distillery in Kiri Afghana here had also accused the party leaders of forcefully shutting down the distillery.