Delhi Excise Policy row: CBI denies sending LOC to Sisodia; BJP says handcuffs getting closer to Kejriwal
NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation has not issued a Look Out Circular "as of now" against any accused including Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in the excise policy scam case, officials said Sunday.
They said the process of scrutinising documents is going on and notices are being issued to suspects for questioning, they said.
This comes after Sisodia claimed a lookout notice against him in the excise policy case being probed by the CBI and termed the move a "drama" as the agency found "nothing" during a raid at his residence on Friday.
"As of now" no LookOut Circulars (LOC) have been issued against any of the accused in the case, the officials said.
The CBI has also not felt the need to issue an LOC against public servants so far because they cannot leave the country without intimating the government, they said.
Sisodia is among 15 individuals and entities named in an FIR registered by the CBI in connection with alleged irregularities in the implementation of the Delhi government's Excise Policy 2021-22.
The agency on Friday carried out searches at 31 places including Sisodia's residence and premises of some bureaucrats and businessmen.
Under the CBI scanner are at least two payments worth crores of rupees allegedly made to "close associates" of Sisodia by Sameer Mahendru, the owner of Indospirits, who was one of the liquor traders actively involved in alleged irregularities.
The FIR alleged Sisodia's "close associates" -- Amit Arora, director of Buddy Retail Pvt. Limited in Gurugram, Dinesh Arora and Arjun Pandey -- were "actively involved in managing and diverting the undue pecuniary advantage collected from liquor licensees" to the accused public servants.
The CBI raids on Friday, which went on for nearly 15 hours, came after Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena last month recommended a probe by the agency into the alleged violations of rules and procedural lapses in the implementation of the policy that came into effect from November 17 last year.
The Delhi government withdrew the policy in July after Saxena recommended the probe.
The BJP on Sunday alleged Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is the "kingpin" of the excise policy "scam" and said handcuffs are getting close to him as nodes of corruption are being unravelled.
Addressing a press conference here, BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia alleged Kejriwal was busy indulging in corruption when Covid-affected people needed his help.
Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta, who also addressed the press conference, said, "Delhi's excise policy has proved to be a corrupt one. Arvind Kejriwal is the kingpin of this entire scam."
Bhatia said when it was time to help Covid-affected people, Kejriwal was busy indulging in corruption by signing the excise policy.
"Roots of the excise policy 'scam' lead to the doorstep of corrupt Kejriwal. No one is above law and no corrupt person will be spared," he said.
On the AAP's claim that the 2024 Lok Sabha elections will be a direct fight between Kejriwal and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the BJP spokesperson said everyone knows what happened in Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Goa polls.
The public will give the AAP a reply, he said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday raided 31 locations, including Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's residence, in connection with the irregularities in the Delhi government's Excise Policy 2021-22.