NEW DELHI: Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister was grilled for over nine hours on Monday on various aspects of the Delhi government's excise policy, his relations with other accused, including businessman Vijay Nair, and documents recovered during searches in the case, Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI officials) said.
"Today I saw in the CBI office that there's no issue of any scam (excise policy case). The whole case is fake. I understood all that in the 9hr-questioning today. The case isn't to probe any scam against me, but to make Operation Lotus successful in Delhi," Manish Sisodia said.
"I was asked inside the CBI office to leave (AAP), or else such cases will keep getting registered against me. I was told 'Satyendar Jain ke upar konse sachhe cases hain?'...I said I won't leave AAP for BJP. They said they'll make me CM," alleged the Dy CM.
"The CBI strongly refutes these allegations and reiterates that the examination of Sisodia was carried out in a professional and legal manner strictly as per the allegations against him in the FIR. The investigation of the case will continue as per the law," the agency said in a statement.
Sisodia was examined strictly on the allegations in the FIR and the evidence collected so far during the course of investigation, it said.
"CBI will evaluate the answers given by Sisodia and if needed, he will be summoned again later. No summons to Sisodia for tomorrow," said a CBI official to ANI.
Sisodia arrived at the CBI office in Delhi around 11.10 am on Monday. He was asked by the investigating agency to appear at its headquarters in connection with the ongoing investigations into the alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise policy case. Sisodia entered the building along with AAP leader Somnath Bharti, also a lawyer by profession.
After being tilak-ed by his wife, Sisodia took the blessing of his mother and left for the CBI headquarters Monday morning. Enroute, he visited Raj Ghat, the samadhi of Mahatma Gandhi.
As Sisodia left his house, he was accompanied by MPs and MLAs, including Sanjay Singh, Saurabh Bharadwaj, Atishi and Jarnail Singh. AAP supporters flocked around Sisodia’s convoy as he moved through the crowd in an electric car, waving a Tricolour though the sunroof. The AAP supporter carried posters of Bhagat Singh and B R Ambedkar. The supporters were stopped by the Police at Raj Ghat.
Sisodia took to twitter on Sunday afternoon saying “CBI raid was conducted at my house for 14 hours, nothing came out. Searched my bank locker, but nothing came out in it. They did not find anything in my village. Now they have called me to CBI Headquarters at 11 am tomorrow. I will go and give my full cooperation.
The CBI registered an FIR in August against Sisodia and 14 others under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), including 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 477A (falsification of records), and section 7 of the Prevention of Corruption Act.
The FIR was lodged after Delhi Lt Governor VK Saxena recommended a CBI probe into the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. Sisodia, in-charge of the excise department at the relevant period when the policy was formulated and implemented.
It was alleged that the policy, which was brought into effect in November last year, was influenced at the formulation stage to benefit certain businessmen, liquor distributors and traders. Following the registration of the case, the Delhi government had withdrawn the policy with effect from 31 July 2022.
(With inputs from ANI, PTI)