NEW DELHI: Enforcement Directorate sleuths on Friday swooped down on 35 new locations across three states, including Delhi, in the money laundering probe into alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy, which was scrapped in July this year.
Among those raided was a prominent media house running a major regional daily in southern India as well as an English-language TV channel. One of the persons associated with this media house was named in the CBI FIR in the alleged liquor scam.
The searches, sources said, were carried out at around 35 locations in Delhi, Punjab and some places in Hyderabad. Some liquor companies, distributors and their alleged associates were searched following fresh information which came out during the questioning of the accused arrested earlier. The ED has conducted over 100 raids in the case so far.
Last month, the ED conducted searches at 35 locations across the country in the money laundering probe it had launched involving the Delhi government’s now-scrapped liquor policy. Searches were conducted at locations in Delhi, Noida, Gurugram, Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh and Jalandhar, among others.
The searches were primarily targeted at various vendors, distributors and middlemen allegedly engaged by the Delhi government under its scrapped excise policy. The locations searched last month also included the residence of Sameer Mahendru, the managing director of Indospirit Group, who is an accused in the case, and was arrested.
The money laundering case linked to the scrapped excised policy follows a CBI FIR that had named Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia as an accused, among others. The scheme came under the scanner after the Delhi L-G recommended a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in the implementation of Delhi’s Excise Policy 2021-22. He had suspended 11 excise officials. ED has questioned AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak and minister Satyendar Jain, lodged in Tihar Jail, while the CBI has held businessman Vijay Nair.