New Delhi, Sep 16 : In a latest development in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) team on Friday reached the premises of YSRCP Lok Sabha MP Magunta Sreenivasulu Reddy.
Reddy, the MP from Andhra Pradesh’s Ongole Lok Sabha constituency, could not be contacted despite repeated attempts by IANS.
The ED was conducting raids at more than 40 places across India since Friday morning.
An ED team was also at the Tihar Jail to interrogate Delhi’s Health Minister Satyendar Jain.
According to sources, the ED was conducting raids in Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Delhi-NCR and in Tamil Nadu’s Nellore.
The ED action is on the basis of an FIR of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in the excide policy scam case.
The CBI has made Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia as the accused number one in its FIR.
The CBI’s FIR was lodged under sections 120-B (Criminal Conspiracy) and 477-A (Falsification of accounts) of the IPC. The allegations against Sisodia is that liquor businessmen were allegedly given exemption of Rs 30 crore. The licence holders were allegedly given extension according to their own will and the policy rules were made by violating excise rules.
It also said that Sisodia and a few liquor barons were actively involved in managing and diverting the undue pecuniary advantage collected from liquor licensees to public servants, who have been made accused in the case.
“Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Arva Gopi Krishna, the then Commissioner (Excise), Anand Tiwari, the then Deputy Commissioner (Excise), and Pankaj Bhatnagar, Assistant Commissioner (Excise) were instrumental in recommending and taking decisions pertaining to the excise policy for the year 2021-22 without approval of the competent authority with an intention to extend undue favours to the licensees post tender,” read the FIR, which has been accessed by IANS.
