ED arrests businessman Amit Arora in Delhi liquor policy case
NEW DELHI,NOV 30: The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday arrested Amit Arora, a close associate of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, in liquor policy case. Arora is the director of Gurugram-based Buddy Retail.
A total of five people have been arrested by the ED in the Delhi Excise policy money laundering case till now. Liquor businessman Sameer Mahandru was arrested by the ED on September 27 following his questioning.
The financial probe agency has so far undertaken 169 search operations in the case, filed after taking cognisance of a CBI FIR which was registered on the recommendation of the Delhi Lieutenant Governor.
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The CBI had earlier alleged that Amit Arora, Dinesh Arora and Arjun Pandey are “close associates” of Sisodia and were “actively involved in managing and diverting the undue pecuniary advantage collected from liquor licensees” for the accused public servants.
Meanwhile, Minister Manish Sisodia, who was named in the CBI FIR, did not figure in the CBI charge sheet which is filed within 60 days of the probe agency taking the investigation.
The agency has kept the probe open related to the role of others, broader conspiracy with licensees, the money trail, cartelisation, and larger conspiracy in framing and executing the controversial excise policy in the national capital which was rolled back.
The agency has alleged that Sisodia and other accused public servants recommended and took decisions pertaining to the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 without the approval of competent authority with “an intention to extend undue favours to the licensees post tender”.
-The India Today