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While Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was remanded to five-day CBI custody today, here’s a look at Delhi’s alleged “liquor scam” that led to Sisodia’s arrest.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Sunday arrested Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with alleged corruption in Delhi’s liquor policy. While the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has cried vendetta politics and blamed BJP for misusing central agencies, we dig deeper into Delhi liquor policy case to find out if rules were flouted and if Manish Sisodia’s arrest was warranted.
Manish Sisodia’s Arrest
Manish Sisodia arrived at the CBI headquarters in New Delhi around 11 am on Sunday and was questioned for about eight hours before his arrest was finally recorded.
The LG office indicated that it found substantial indications of a financial quid pro quo at the topmost political level within the Aam Aadmi Party and that the Delhi government has allegedly violated many law provisions, and there have been procedural lapses. Following a report by the Delhi Chief Secretary, which found that the GNCTD Act of 1991 was violated, the LG recommended a CBI probe into AAP’s excise policy earlier. Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar’s report alleged that Sisodia provided undue benefits to liquor vend licensees in return for kickbacks and commissions, which was used by AAP in the Punjab elections. The excise policy was scrapped in July last year after the LG recommended a CBI probe into the matter. Amongst other things, the Delhi government is being blamed for extending undue financial favours to the liquor licensees even after the tenders were awarded, which allegedly caused huge losses to the state exchequer. The Delhi Police’s Economic Offences Wing (EOW) has been investigating the Delhi government’s excise policy separately.
All About Delhi’s Alleged “Liquor Scam”
The AAP government implemented the new excise policy on 17 November 2021, under which retail licences were given to private bidders for 849 liquor vends across 32 zones in the city.
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https://theprobe.in/stories/manish-sisodia-arrested-decoding-delhis-alleged-liquor-scam/