New Delhi: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested in the Delhi excise policy case on Thursday, in which he had been issued multiple summons by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Kejriwal skipped the ninth ED summon today.
Earlier today, the Delhi High Court had refused to grant him interim protection from “coercive action.”
According to the CBI and the ED, the alleged irregularities were committed while modifying the excise policy, and undue favours were extended to licence holders. The Delhi government implemented the policy on November 17, 2021, but scrapped it at the end of September 2022 amid allegations of corruption.
ED in a statement on March 17 said it had made 15 arrests so far in the case. Besides, Kejriwal, other high-profile arrests include Manish Sisodia, Vijay Nair, Sanjay Singh, and K Kavitha.
Other High-Profile Arrests So Far-
Former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia
The CBI arrested Manish Sisodia on February 26, 2023, for his alleged role in the “scam”.
The ED arrested Sisodia in a money-laundering case stemming from the CBI FIR on March 9, 2023, after questioning him in Tihar Jail. Sisodia resigned from the Delhi cabinet on February 28, 2023.
AAP Leader Sanjay Singh
On October 4, Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh was arrested by the ED. The central agency earlier said that Singh was part of the conspiracy to collect kickbacks from liquor groups in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22.
BRS Leader K Kavitha
ED arrested BRS MLC and KCR’s daughter Kavitha on March 15, 2024, in the Delhi liquor scam case.
After the arrest, Enforcement Directorate in a statement claimed Kavitha and some others “conspired with the top leaders of AAP including Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia for getting favours in the Delhi excise policy-formulation and implementation.” “In exchange of these favours, she was involved in paying Rs 100 crore to the leaders of AAP,” the agency said.
The CBI also arrested Butchibabu Gorantla, former chartered accountant of Kavitha, for his alleged role in the formulation and implementation of the Delhi excise policy.
AAP Communications Head Vijay Nair
In September 2022, the CBI on Tuesday arrested Vijay Nair, communications chief of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and former CEO of Mumbai-based entertainment and event management company ‘Only Much Louder’ for conspiracy, ‘cartelisation’ and ‘chosen licensing’ in Delhi Excise Policy.
The CBI had alleged that bribes from a liquor firm owner were collected through Nair.
Liquor Businessman Sameer Mahendru
Mahendru was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on September 28, 2022, in the money laundering case.
ED had alleged that the businessman was one of the main conspirators and a key player in the formulation of the excise policy and its implementation, and was also involved in creating a cartel of manufacturers, wholesalers, and retailers.
It had noted that Mahendru was accused of having earned huge profits totalling around Rs 192 crore against a meagre investment of Rs 15 crore in his firm M/s Indo Spirits. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has called it the proceeds of crime.
The prosecution has accused Mahendru of being one of the major beneficiaries of the violations in the excise policy as he was not only running an alcoholic beverage manufacturing unit but was also given a wholesale licence along with some retail licences in the name of his relatives in violation of the norms.
Businessman Dinesh Arora, Amit Arora
In July 2023, ED arrested businessman Dinesh Arora, an accused who has been declared a prosecution witness in the same case being probed by CBI.
Amit Arora was also arrested, who was the promoter of liquor companies Buddy Retail Pvt Ltd, Popular Spirits, and KSJM Spirits LLP.
Dinesh Arora was allegedly a close associate of Manish Sisodia.
The ED, in a supplementary charge sheet, has accused Sisodia of receiving bribes from Amit Arora, through Dinesh Arora. “As elaborated… Amit Arora paid Rs 2.2 crore to Manish Sisodia through Dinesh Arora for getting policy changes in his favour in the GoM report/excise policy 2021-22.”
Punjab-Based Businessman Gautam Malhotra
The ED arrested Gautam Malhotra, businessman son of former SAD MLA and liquor baron Deep Malhotra, from Punjab. Malhotra, promoter of the Oasis group of Punjab, was taken into custody under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).