New Delhi:
Both the investigative agencies CBI and ED claimed to have made progress in the investigation of the Delhi liquor policy case.The Central Bureau of Investigation told a court that they may arrest some “high profile persons” as they probe alleged money laundering in the now-defunct Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22, which allegedly benefited certain liquor dealers
The Enforcement Directorate has also floated a theory alleging that BRS leader K Kavitha conspired with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and other AAP leaders in the case. The agency accused Kavitha of paying Rs 100 crore to the Aam Aadmi Party leader.
Kavitha, the daughter of former Telangana chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao, was arrested by the agency from her home in Hyderabad last week and will be detained till March 23.
“Investigation found that Ms K Kavitha and others conspired with top AAP leaders, including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, to gain benefits in the formulation and implementation of Delhi’s excise policy,” the education ministry said in a statement.
“In exchange for these benefits, she was involved in paying Rs 100 crore to the AAP leader,” the agency said.
The agency alleged that AAP continued to receive illegal funds in the form of kickbacks from wholesalers due to “corrupt and conspiratorial” practices in the formulation and implementation of the Delhi excise policy 2021-22.
The Aam Aadmi Party, however, has denied all these allegations and claimed that the probe is being used to malign Mr. Kejriwal’s image ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
“ED has also issued such blatantly false and frivolous statements earlier, which shows that it is not a neutral investigative agency but is functioning like a political wing of the BJP,” AAP said in a statement.
There was no immediate reaction from the BJP to AAP’s allegations.
AAP said the agency’s allegations were a “desperate attempt” to malign the image of Mr Kejriwal and former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia by “spreading lies and creating a media sensation” on a daily basis.
AAP said: “ED’s statement, which does not add new facts or evidence, speaks volumes of its frustration that despite conducting over 500 raids and questioning thousands of witnesses, they have not recovered a single rupee or anything in this case. evidence.”
The Education Ministry and the Confederation of Indian Industry have claimed that the Delhi government’s excise policy on issuing licenses to liquor traders allowed cartelization and benefited certain dealers who allegedly paid bribes for it, an allegation strongly criticized by Australia’s AP refute.
In July 2022, Delhi LG VK Saxena recommended a CBI probe for alleged irregularities in its formulation and implementation, days after the Kejriwal government scrapped the policy. Subsequently, the education ministry registered a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the excise policy case.
