Delhi excise policy case: ED files fresh chargesheet in court naming Manish Sisodia as accused

Excise policy scam: Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday filed another chargesheet in the Delhi court naming former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia as an accused in the money laundering case.

ED on March 9 arrested former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the liquor policy case, after hours of questioning at Tihar Jail.

Sisodia was arrested by the CBI earlier in its ongoing investigation of a case related to alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy of the National Capital Territory of Delhi.

Fifth charge sheet by ED

This is the fifth charge sheet or prosecution complaint filed in the case by the ED before a designated special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Delhi.

The agency has called Sisodia a "key conspirator" in this case.

The federal agency has arrested 12 people including Sisodia in this case till now, in which it has said, the probe is continuing.

It is alleged that the Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 to grant licences to liquor traders allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the AAP.

The policy was subsequently scrapped and the Delhi lieutenant governor recommended a CBI probe, following which the ED registered a case under the PMLA.

(With inputs from PTI)