‘Can’t find me? Tell me where do you want me to come’: Manish Sisodia on reports of CBI’s lookout notice

Manish Sisodia was reacting to news reports that the CBI has issued a lookout notice against all the 15 accused named in the FIR.

आपकी सारी रेड फैल हो गयी, कुछ नहीं मिला, एक पैसे की हेरा फेरी नहीं मिली, अब आपने लुक आउट नोटिस जारी किया है कि मनीष सिसोदिया मिल नहीं रहा। ये क्या नौटंकी है मोदी जी?
मैं खुलेआम दिल्ली में घूम रहा हूँ, बताइए कहाँ आना है? आपको मैं मिल नहीं रहा?

— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) August 21, 2022

Sisodia said in a tweet in Hindi, “All your raids have failed, you did not find anything. You didn’t find impropriety and corruption of even a paisa. Now, you have issued a lookout notice that Manish Sisodia cannot be found. What is this drama, Modi ji? I am out and about in Delhi, tell me where would you like me to come? You aren’t able to find me?”

ऐसे समय जब आम इंसान महंगाई से जूझ रहा है, करोड़ों की संख्या में युवा बेरोज़गार हैं, केंद्र सरकार को सभी राज्य सरकारों के साथ मिलकर बेरोज़गारी और महंगाई से लड़ना चाहिए।उसकी बजाय ये पूरे देश से लड़ रहे हैं। रोज़ सुबह उठकर CBI ED का खेल शुरू कर देते हैं। ऐसे देश कैसे तरक़्क़ी करेगा?

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) August 21, 2022

Taking to Twitter, Delhi CM and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal said, “At a time when common man is battling with inflation, crores of youth are unemployed, the Central government along with all the state governments should fight unemployment and inflation. Instead, they are fighting with the whole country. Every morning they wake up and start the game of CBI-ED. How will the country progress like this?”

The CBI had raided Sisodia’s home and office Friday, along with several other locations, including the houses of 14 others named as accused in the First Information Report. The FIR also names former Delhi excise commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna and former deputy excise commissioner Anand Tiwari.

It also names Vijay Nair, businessman and former CEO of events and entertainment firm Only Much Louder, who has been working with the AAP for the past three years on media and political strategy. Nair is not in India at present.

The FIR stated that Praveen Kumar Rai, Director, Ministry of Home Affairs “has conveyed directions of competent authority for enquiry into the matter of irregularities in framing and implementation of the excise policy of GNCTD of Delhi for the year 2021-22”.

“He has also forwarded a letter of L-G Vinai Kumar Saxena alleging irregularities in framing and implementation of the excise policy. The OM is enclosed herewith, which discloses that Manish Sisodia, Deputy CM; Arava Gopi Krishna, then Commissioner (Excise); Anand Tiwari, then Deputy Commissioner (Excise); and Pankaj Bhatnagar, Assistant Commissioner (Excise) were instrumental in recommending and taking decisions pertaining to excise policy for the year 2021-22 without approval of competent authority with an intention to extend undue favours to the licencees post tender,” the FIR stated.

Citing ‘reliable sources’, the CBI, in its FIR, stated that “some of the L-1 licence holders are issuing credit notes to retail vendors with an ab-initio intention to divert the funds as undue pecuniary advantage to public servants. In furtherance to this, they are showing false entries in their books of accounts to keep their record straight”.

The FIR named three “close associates” of Sisodia and said they “are actively involved in managing and diverting the undue pecuniary advantage collected from liquor licencees to accused public servants”.