The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) filed a chargesheet against seven defendants in the Delhi Excise Policy Scam on Friday, marking a significant breakthrough in the investigation.
A top CBI official stated that seven people, including two government officials and five private individuals, were included in the chargesheet. Vijay Nair, Abhishek Boinpally, Arun Pillai, Sameer Mahendru, Gautam Mootha, Kuldeep Singh, and Narendra Singh are the defendants listed in the chargesheet.
He continued that Narendra Singh was the Assistant Commissioner (Excise) at the time, and Kuldeep Singh was the Deputy Commissioner (Excise).
“It is the first FIR in the case, and the investigation is on against other persons named in the FIR. As more facts emerge, a Supplementary Charge Sheet will be filed,” said the CBI official.
The trial court’s decision to grant bail to AAP communication strategist Vijay Nair and Hyderabad-based businessman Abhishek Boinpally was challenged earlier on Thursday by the CBI in a petition to the Delhi High Court.
Following the arrest of Sameer Mahendru, the managing director of the Delhi-based Indospirit Group, a distributor of alcoholic beverages, in this case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids at over thirty locations in Delhi and Punjab in October.
Manish Sisodia, the deputy chief minister of Delhi, Arva Gopi Krishna, Deputy Commissioner Anand Tiwari, and Assistant Commissioner Pankaj Bhatnagar are among those charged in the case.
Other defendants include Manoj Rai, a former Pernod Ricard employee, Amandeep Dhal, the director of Brindco Sales, and Buddy Retail, the director. Sunny Marwah, Arun Ramchandra Pillai, and Arjun Pandey are authorised signatories for Mahadev Liquors, along with Amit Arora and Dinesh Arora.
The ED and the CBI claimed that improper actions were taken when changing the excise policy, that licence holders received improper favors, that the licence fee was waived or reduced, and that the L-1 licence was extended without the competent authority’s consent. In order to avoid detection, the beneficiaries made fictitious entries in their books of accounts and diverted “illegal” gains to the charged officials.
It was claimed that, in violation of the established procedures, the Excise Department had chosen to return the successful tenderer’s approximately Rs 30 crore earnest money deposit. Despite the lack of an enabling provision, COVID-19 permitted a waiver of the tendering licence payments from December 28, 2021, to January 27, 2022.
The FIR, which was initiated on a referral from the Union Home Ministry following a recommendation from Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, claimed that this resulted in a loss to the exchequer of Rs 144.36 crore.