The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is conducting raids in Delhi and five other states on Tuesday, 6 September, in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy case.
Searches are underway at about 30 premises in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Telangana, and Maharashtra. But these do not include premises linked to Delhi's Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia or any other government servant, as per officials.
In the national capital, the central agency searched the Jor Bagh residence of businessperson Sameer Mahandru, news agency ANI reported. The home of Amit Arora, director of Buddy Retail Pvt Limited, was raided in Gurugram.
Last month, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had raided Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's residence, after registering a First Information Report (FIR) over the alleged irregularities in the formulation and execution of the Delhi excise policy brought out in November last year.
The CBI had also searched Sisodia's bank locker at a Punjab National Bank (PNB) branch in Ghaziabad on 30 August.
CBI has named Sisodia as the prime accused in the case, which has been registered under sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) related to criminal conspiracy and provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988.
The FIR says that Sisodia, the then Delhi Excise Commissioner, Arava Gopi Krishna, and two other senior excise department officials were “instrumental in recommending and taking decisions pertaining to the excise policy for the year 2021-22 without the approval of competent authorities with an intention to extend undue favours to the licencees post the tender."
Amid the controversy, Delhi returned to the old excise policy regime on 1 September with the opening of government-run liquor vends in the city and the exit of private players from retail business.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI.)
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)