What Is Delhi Excise Policy Scam And Why AAP MP Sanjay Singh Has Been Arrested?

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday evening arrested Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy scam.

Singh was taken into custody from his residence after a day-long interrogation by ED officials.

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Why Sanjay Sing was arrested

The ED had on Wednesday morning raided the residence of Singh and the premises of some of his close aides in connection with the case.

Singh is the second high-profile AAP leader to be arrested in connection with the now-cancelled liquor excise policy in Delhi.

Former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was arrested by the CBI on February 26 for his alleged role in the scam.

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Later, the Enforcement Directorate arrested him on March 9.

What are the allegations against Sanjay Singh?

According to the ED, Singh had met Dinesh Arora, an alleged middleman, during a party in his restaurant Unplugged Courtyard.

Singh allegedly requested him to ask restaurant owners to generate funds for the Aam Aadmi Party for the Delhi assembly elections. He said he gave a cheque of Rs 82 lakh for the funds.

The EDC chargesheet in the case stated that Arora said in his statement that another accused, Amit Arora, wanted help in shifting his liquor shop from Okhla to Pitampura. He managed this through Singh, who told Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and the matter was resolved by the Excise Department.

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Dinesh Arora also said he met Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal once at his residence with Singh while he had spoken to Sisodia five-six times, the charge sheet stated.

What is Delhi liquor policy case?

The Delhi excise policy case pertains to allegations that the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government's excise policy for 2021-22 allowed cartelisation and favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it.

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

ED has so far filed five chargesheets in the case, including against Sisodia.

Before the 2021-22 excise policy, the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation (DTTDC), Delhi Consumer's Cooperative Wholesale Store (DCCWS), and Delhi State Civil Supplies Corporation (DSCSC) - ran 475 liquor stores out of total 864 in the national capital.

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But under the (now-scrapped) liquor policy, which came into effect on November 17, 2021, the Delhi government had allowed private firms to open retail liquor outlets.

After scrapping the excise policy 2021-22, the Delhi government switched to the old regime under which its four agencies took control of the retail liquor trade from September 1, 2022.

How the case unfolded

The irregularities first came to light in July 2022 when Delhi Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar submitted a report to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, who then recommended a CBI probe into the formulation and implementation of the excise policy.

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