Delhi liquor policy: The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday filed its first charge sheet in a court in the Delhi Excise policy money laundering case. It names liquor businessman Sameer Mahandru as one of the accused, officials said. Mahendru’s 60-day statutory period after his arrest expires tomorrow.
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Besides Mahandru, who is Indospirits promoter, the prosecution complaint also listed two other persons. The chargesheet is about 3,000 pages containing statements of the accused and annexures, officials said. It has also pressed sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
More chargesheets later
ED said that it was filing the chargesheet only against Sameer Mahendru for now. Later, it will file charge sheets filed against the other accused also since investigation is still going on.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led cabinet passed the excise policy in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. The government said the aim was to generate optimum revenue, eradicate the sale of spurious liquor or non-duty paid liquor in the national capital and also to enhance users’ experience.
After the case was filed, ED conducted multiple raids at various places in the national capital and also in other parts of the country. Smwlling a scam, L-G Vinai Kumar Saxena recommended a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in the implementation of Delhi’s Excise Policy 2021-22.
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Policy scrapped in July
The Delhi Excise Policy was implemented on November 17 last year. However, the Arvind Kejriwal government scrapped it in July this year following a CBI probe into its implementation. The ED is investigating the money trail in the alleged scam.
Interestingly, the chargesheet submitted by the CBI in the liquor scam on Friday did not name the deputy chief minister of Delhi deputy CM Manish Sisodia even though he was mentioned in the FIR registered earlier. The chargesheet named seven accused, including AAP’s communications chief and Sisodia’s close aide Vijay Nair besides Hyderabad-based businessman Abhishek Boinpally.
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