Delhi News LIVE: Manish Sisodia Sent to 5-Day ED Remand in Liquor Policy Case

The budget session of the Delhi Assembly commenced on Friday with the maiden address of Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena. However, his address was interrupted as BJP legislators raised slogans demanding Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation over alleged corruption in the now-scrapped excise policy and AAP legislators opposing them.

AAP leader Raghav Chadha claimed that central probe agencies only have “malicious and fabricated stories” against Manish Sisodia. “The BJP is scared of AAP and has started a politics of revenge. CBI and ED don’t have any evidence against Manish Sisodia. They only have concocted stories against him. When the court said that CBI took Sisodia on remand, interrogated him and did not find anything against him, they got ED to frame more false cases against him,”

According to the ED, members/representatives of the ‘South Group’, which allegedly includes Kavitha, the daughter of Telangana Chief Minister KCR, were staying in the Oberoi hotel, New Delhi, from March 14 to March 17 in 2021. “The changes in the draft GoM report (from 5% to 12%) which is overlapping with the stay of the members/representatives of the South Group in Oberoi hotel, New Delhi,” it said.

According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the then Secretary of Manish Sisodia had called him to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence and handed him a document containing the draft GoM report. It also noted the document retrieved from the office conference room revealed 12% profit margin for wholesale for the first time.

The ED had claimed that Sisodia’s decision to use a SIM card and handset registered in other person’s name was a “cool-headed” and “well thought plan” to destroy evidence. “The purpose of using a SIM card and handset registered in the name of another person is to deny that the WhatsApp/data connected with the SIM and stored in the phone belongs to him,” the agency claimed.

During the investigation and interrogation of Manish Sisodia, the ED, in its statement, has claimed that the former deputy chief minister destroyed his phone, which he had been using for the last eight months, on August 27, 2022, the date on which the complaint sent by the LG to CBI in the liquor scam case was covered in media.

According to the plea by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for an extension of remand of AAP leader Manish Sisodia who has been arrested in a money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy, large-scale destruction of digital evidence was intentionally made to destroy evidence of handling of proceeds of crime.

Referring to BJP spokesperson Amit Malviya’s statement on Manish Sisodia’s bungalow being allocated to AAP minister Atishi and allegations of Sisodia’s “abandonment” by the AAP functionaries, Singh said Atishi ji is a minister now. If she is allotted the bungalow, what is the issue?” He said, “Manish ji is our brother. We know how to take care of his family. BJP has treated Sisodia as if he is a terrorist. Who are they to tell us how to take care of his family? Why are they having issues?”

Speaking to reporters after former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia’s ED custody was extended by 5 more days, AAP spokesperson Sanjay Singh in a warning to Prime Minister Narendra Modi said “the entire country will not forget that you have treated Sisodia as a terrorist,” adding Sisodia gave Delhi good schools and improved education for children. “The people of the country elected you Modiji as PM. But you are misusing your position in torturing people like Sisodia,” he added.

Shortly after the ED sent former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia to five more days in ED custody in connection to the alleged excise policy scam, AAP leader Sanjay Singh termed the “entire episode” of being “triggered by political vendetta, to defame the Delhi government, derail its work and punish Delhi for electing AAP.”

Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was sent to five-day ED remand on Friday in connection with the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy ‘scam’ case.

Delhi BJP MLAs hold a demonstration demanding Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s resignation over alleged corruption charges.

The meeting of the Central Election Committee (CEC) of Congress gets underway at AICC in Delhi.

court here on Friday reserved its order on an Enforcement Directorate plea seeking the custody of AAP leader Manish Sisodia, who has been arrested in a money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy, for seven more days.

Sisodia was produced before special judge M K Nagpal, who will announce the order on the extension of the former Delhi deputy chief minister’s custody shortly.

The ED told the court that crucial information had come up during Sisodia’s custody and he had to confronted with other accused persons. It said voluminous data from Sisodia’s email and mobile, etc. is also being forensically analysed.

Opposing the federal probe agency’s plea, Sisodia’s lawyer said there is not a whisper from the agency regarding the proceeds of the crime, which is fundamental to the case. He further said there is no justification for the extension of custody and Sisodia was confronted only with four people during his earlier seven-day custody.

According to ED’s remand note, crucial information has emerged from Manish Sisodia’s interrogation. Following the emergence of this crucial information, Sisodia needs to be confronted with ex excise commissioner C Aravind, and businessmen Amit Arora, Dinesh Arora, and Rahul Singh.

CNN News18 accessed certain Pages of ED’s remand note.

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday sought former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia’s custody for seven more days. ED told the court that Sisodia could not give any answer to their question of why he changed so many phones.

Sisodia was produced before the Rouse Avenue Court on the expiry of his 7-day ED custody in the money laundering case in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case.

Sisodia’s lawyer opposed the plea for an extension of remand. His lawyer said ED needs to tell the court what they have done on the aspect of the proceeds of the crime, adding that they have to show the proceeds of the crime and not the crime because CBI has already done the process. “Are they proxy agency of the CBI?” Sisodia’s lawyer said.

AAP leader and former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia was brought by ED to Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi, in the liquor policy case. Sisodia’s ED remand is scheduled to end today.

ED had earlier arrested Manish Sisodia after questioning him in Tihar Jail.

The budget session of the Delhi Assembly commenced on a stormy note as BJP and AAP legislators raised slogans against each other during Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena’s address to the house on Friday. READ MORE

After Rahul Gandhi mentioned about the victims of sexual harassment in his Bharat Jodo Yatra speech in January in Srinagar, the Delhi Police have visited him twice and waited for hours to serve the necessary notice to get the details.

The Congress MP was served the notice on Wednesday after he did not meet the police team on Tuesday at his residence here even after waiting for three hours, said a Delhi Police source, adding that the team had visited twice his residence to serve him the notice to provide details about the victims of sexual harassment who had approached him to seek security.

According to sources, the police team on March 15 had waited for three hours at Gandhi’s residence to serve him the notice, however, he did not meet them. “Again on March 16, senior officers visited his residence and served the notice after waiting for one-and-a-half hour,” said the sources in Delhi Police.

The Supreme Court will hear the petition filed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) challenging the nomination of aldermen by Delhi LG on March 24. Delhi government has moved the apex court challenging LG’s decision.