‘Not Afraid of CBI’: Manish Sisodia Says Computer, Phone Seized After 14-Hour Raid

The raid was made in connection to the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 wherein CBI has accused Deputy CM Manish Sisodia and 14 others of corruption.

New Delhi: Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, whose house was raided on Friday by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with alleged irregularities in implementation of Excise Policy 2021-22, said the agency seized his computer and mobile phone after several hours of search and also took away some files. After a 14-hours-long raid at his home, he asserted that he did not commit any wrong and was not scared of CBI.

“The CBI team reached in the morning and searched the whole house. My family and myself extended them full cooperation. They seized my computer and mobile phone. They also took away some files,” he told reporters after the raid. “But the work of providing good education and health will continue, the Delhi government will not stop,” he added.

The CBI carried out day-long searches at Deputy CM Sisodia’s Delhi home and 31 other locations across seven states over allegations of corruption in liquor policies of the Delhi government. The policy, which was put in place in November 2021, was scrapped in July after investigations started.

Delhi’s Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena had recommended a CBI probe last month after a report from the Chief Secretary alleging irregularities in the new liquor policy. It has been said that liquor shop licenses were handed over to private players for benefits to political leaders.

In its First Information Report (FIR) filed on Wednesday, the CBI claimed that a liquor trader has paid ₹ 1 crore to a company managed by an associate of Manish Sisodia. He is included in a list of 15 people named in the FIR.

According to the FIR filed by CBI, at least two payments in crores were allegedly made to “close associates” of Sisodia by Sameer Mahendru, owner of Indospirits, who was one of the liquor traders actively involved in irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy.

Also, Sisodia’s “close associates” Amit Arora, director of Buddy Retail, Dinesh Arora and Arjun Pandey were actively involved in managing and diverting the undue pecuniary advantage collected from liquor licensees for the accused public servants.

Radha Industries, managed by Dinesh Arora, allegedly received Rs 1 crore from Mahendru. Pandey, also an associate of Sisodia, had once collected cash of about Rs 2-4 crore from Mahendru on behalf of Vijay Nair, who gave the funds to the accused public servants.

AAP has claimed that the Centre’s blowback came after the Delhi government’s work in the education sector received high praise and a front page article in largest US daily New York Times was published.