ED issues 7th summons to CM Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi excise policy probe
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued fresh summons to the Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal.
In its excise policy money laundering probe asking him to appear before it on February 26, people familiar with the development said on Thursday. The latest (seventh) summons were issued after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener continued to skip interrogation by the financial crimes probe agency since November 2 last year.
People cited above said Kejriwal needs to be questioned to know more about the alleged bribe amounts which came to the AAP and other leaders in the excise policy, and same were used for election campaigning.
In its sixth charge sheet filed in the case on December 2, 2023 naming AAP leader Sanjay Singh and his aide Sarvesh Mishra, ED has claimed that the Aam Aadmi Party used kickbacks worth ₹45 crore generated via the policy for its assembly elections campaign in Goa in 2022.
The federal agency has already gone to the court against Kejriwal for disobeying its summons.
The findings that AAP benefited directly are expected to be used by ED when it names the party in its next charge sheet.
ED has claimed that total bribes worth ₹100 crore were paid to AAP leaders in connection with the excise policy.
In one of its five charge sheets, ED claimed that the excise policy was Kejriwal’s “brainchild”. Kejriwal has also been mentioned in the remand papers with references to alleged meetings, commissions for private players, and the entry of political players and businesspeople from the south into Delhi’s liquor business.
The financial crimes probe agency has so far filed six charge sheets in the excise policy probe against 31 individuals and entities, including former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh. Both Sisodia and Singh are currently lodged in Tihar jail.
The excise policy was aimed to revitalise the city’s flagging liquor business and replace a sales-volume-based regime with a license fee for traders. It promised swankier stores and a better buying experience. The policy introduced discounts and offers on the purchase of liquor for the first time in Delhi.
Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena’s move to order a probe into alleged irregularities in the regime prompted the scrapping of the policy. The AAP accused Saxena’s predecessor Anil Baijal of sabotaging the move with a few last-minute changes that resulted in lower-than-expected revenues.