Delhi Excise Policy news: AAP's Vijay Nair sent to CBI remand for 5 days
Premium- Vijay Nair has been sent to CBI remand for five days by a Delhi court in the excise policy case
A Delhi court has sent AAP leader and businessman Vijay Nair to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) remand for five days in the Delhi Excise policy case. The CBI had sought a remand for seven days.
Vijay Nair was arrested by the CBI on Tuesday in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy scam case in which Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is also an accused, officials said.
The AAP leader was abroad for quite some time. He was called for questioning at the CBI headquarters on Tuesday.
Vijay Nair was arrested for his alleged role in "cartelisation" and "conspiracy" related to alleged irregularities in the allocation of liquor licenses in the national capital, sources told news agency PTI.
After Vijay Nair was arrested, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) condemned it, alleging that it was part of the BJP's "ongoing attempt" to crush the AAP. The AAP also alleged that it was the BJP that was attempting to obstruct its campaign in Gujarat where Assembly polls are due to be held this year.
In its FIR, the CBI has alleged that an associate of Manish Sisodia, Arjun Pandey, had once collected about ₹2-4 crore in cash from liquor businessman Sameer Mahendru on behalf of Vijay Nair who was the former CEO of Only Much Louder (OML), an entertainment and event management company.
"Source further revealed that Arun Ramchandra Pillai used to collect undue pecuniary advantage from Sameer Mahendru of IndoSpirit for onward transmission to the accused public servants through Nair," the CBI FIR claimed.
The investigation agency also alleged in its FIR that "close associates" of Manish Sisodia -- Amit Arora, Director of Buddy Retail Pvt. Limited based in Gurgaon, Dinesh Arora and Arjun Pandey -- were "actively involved in managing and diverting the undue pecuniary advantage collected from liquor licensees" for the accused.
The CBI has invoked IPC section related to criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act in its FIR filed against 15 entities.
Nair, a well-known name in entertainment circuit, had started OML as a management company for Indie bands but gradually shifted focus towards comedy scenes with noted some noted standup artists, comedy collectives and live music shows.
Nair's leadership at OML came under controversy including #MeToo allegation which was strongly denied by him.
It drew criticism of promoting a culture of sexism at Only Much Louder which was denied by the company in a detailed rebuttal.
(With agency inputs)
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