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Delhi liquor policy case: CBI raids 21 locations including Deputy CM Manish Sisodia's residence

Reporter 02
23 Aug, 2022

New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday conducted raids at 21 locations, including the residence of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and premises of Delhi Excise Commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna, in connection with the alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy.

Reacting to the development, the Deputy Chief Minister slammed the BJP for harassing people doing good work and said that the saffron party was rattled by the development work that the AAP government is doing in Delhi. "CBI has arrived. We are honest, building a future for lakhs of children. Unfortunate that in this country, whoever does good work is hassled just like this, that is why our country is still not number-1," said Sisodia in a series of tweets.

Hitting out at the raids, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said that there have been raids in the past and nothing have come out of them and neither will it this time too.

"The day when the Delhi education model was praised and Manish Sisodia's picture printed on the front page of America's largest newspaper NYT, on the same day Manish's home center sent CBI," Kejriwal tweeted.

"Welcome to CBI. Will cooperate fully. There have been many tests/raids in the past as well. Nothing came out. still nothing will come out," he added.The CBI has registered an FIR in connection with alleged irregularities in formulation and execution of Delhi Excise Policy brought in November last year, officials said.

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena had recommended a CBI probe into the Kejriwal government's Excise Policy, 2021-22, over alleged violations of rules and procedural lapses.

The CBI inquiry was recommended on Delhi Chief Secretary's report filed in July, showing prima facie violations of GNCTD Act 1991, Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR)-1993, Delhi Excise Act-2009, and Delhi Excise Rules-2010, they said.

Apart from this, there were also "deliberate and gross procedural lapses" to provide post-tender "undue benefits to liquor licensees", said the officials.