The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) MCD poll in-charge and Rajinder Nagar MLA Durgesh Pathak in connection with the Delhi’s excise policy scam case.
This is the second time that Pathak is being questioned by the ED. Previously, the MLA was interrogated on September 6.
In September, when the ED raided the residence of another prime accused Vijay Nair in Mumbai, Pathak was present at place during the search operation. The investigation agency confiscated Pathak’s phones and documents.
Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia tweeted on Monday morning that the ED has summoned Pathak and criticised the probe agency, asking if the aim was to target the MCD polls instead of the liquor policy. “Their target is excise policy or upcoming MCD election,” Sisodia tweeted.
Today ED has summoned the election in-charge of AAP’s MCD Durgesh Pathak. What has our MCD election incharge got to do with Delhi government’s liquor policy? Is their target liquor policy or MCD elections?
— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) September 19, 2022
The ED has not commented on the matter as of now.
The CBI has made Sisodia the accused number one in its FIR, which has been lodged under sections 120-B (Criminal Conspiracy) and 477-A (Falsification of accounts) of the IPC.
The allegations against Sisodia is that liquor businessmen were allegedly given exemption of Rs 30 crore. The licence holders were allegedly given extension according to their own will. The policy rules were made by violating excise rules.
It also said that Sisodia and a few liquor barons were actively involved in managing and diverting the undue pecuniary advantage collected from liquor licensees to public servants, who have been made accused in the case.
“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 approval of competent authority with an intention to extend undue favours to the licencees post tender,” read the FIR.
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