Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s name does not figure in the first chargesheet filed by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Friday in the Delhi excise policy scam case.
The CBI’s first chargesheet named seven persons who include two former Excise Department officials.
The chargesheet named Vijay Nair, Abhishek Boinpally, Sameer Mahendru, Arun Ramchandra Pillai, Mootha Gautham, and two public servants – then Deputy Commissioner in the excise department, Kuldeep Singh, and then assistant commissioner of the department, Narender Singh.
Reacting to the development, Sisodia said, “The CBI chargesheet has made it clear that no excise scam has taken place in Delhi; rest of the allegations will be proven false in the courts.”
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, while terming the entire case as ‘fake’, alleged that attempts were being made to frame Sisodia, as the CBI has found nothing against him in its probe.
“Sisodia’s name is not there in the CBI chargesheet. The whole case is fake as nothing was found in the raids. A total of 800 officers have found nothing in their probe for four months. Sisodia gave a ray of hope to crores of poor children in the country through a revolutionary education policy. I am sorry that a conspiracy has been hatched to defame such a person by implicating him in a false case,” Kejriwal said in a tweet.
The chargesheet filed before the Rouse Avenue Court mentioned that further investigation to find out the possible involvement of more public servants and others was underway.
A supplementary chargesheet is likely to be filed later, the CBI said.
“Arun Ramchandra Pillai used to collect undue advantage from Mahendru for onward transmission to the accused public servant through Vijay Nair. Arjun Pandey once collected a huge cash amount of about Rs 2-4 crore from Mahendru on behalf of Nair,” the CBI alleged in the chargesheet.
The investigating agency has made Sisodia accused number one in its FIR. The FIR has been lodged under sections 120-B (Criminal Conspiracy) and 477-A (Falsification of accounts) of the IPC.
The allegation against Sisodia was that liquor businessmen were allegedly given exemption of Rs 30 crore. The licence holders were allegedly given extension according to their own will. The policies were made by violating the excise rules.
It also said Sisodia and a few liquor barons were actively involved in managing and diverting the undue pecuniary advantages collected from liquor license holders to the public servants, who have been made accused in the case.
According to sources, the FIR said, “Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Arva Gopi Krishna, the then Commissioner (Excise), Anand Tiwari, the then Deputy Commissioner (Excise), and Pankaj Bhatnagar, Assistant Commissioner (Excise) were instrumental in recommending and taking decisions pertaining to the excise policy for the year 2021-22 without the approval of competent authority with an intention to extend undue favours to the licensees post tender.”
As of now, the CBI has made two arrests in the case.