New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Friday, September 16, launched fresh raids at about 40 locations across the country as part of its ‘money laundering’ investigation into alleged irregularities in the now scrapped Delhi Excise Policy – opening yet another chapter of the tussle between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party, which have governments in the Union and Delhi respectively.Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate are “unnecessarily troubling everyone” and said the country can’t progress like this.जानकारी के मुताबिक़ दिल्ली में ये लोग 16 और कूड़े के पहाड़ बनाने की योजना बना रहे हैं। इससे तो दिल्लीवासियों का जीना मुश्किल हो जाएगा। https://t.co/lEFva2p0rA— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) September 16, 2022According to officials quoted by the news agency PTI, searches are being conducted at premises linked to liquor businessmen, distributors and supply chain networks in Nellore and some other cities in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and the Delhi NCR.Early on Friday morning, agency teams were escorted by police personnel to locations being searched.This is the second round of raids by the federal agency in this case after it first conducted searches on September 6 at about 40 locations across the country including that of some Punjab government excise department officers.The CBI had conducted raids in the case on August 19, covering the Delhi residences of Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, IAS officer and former Delhi excise commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna, and 19 other locations across seven states and Union Territories. Sisodia holds multiple portfolios in the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government, including excise and education.Sisodia, notably, had demanded a CBI probe into the alleged irregularities in the policy.The policy implemented from November 17, 2021, was scrapped by Kejriwal’s government in July this year after the new Delhi LG V.K. Saxena ordered a CBI probe into its implementation.The Enforcement Directorate case of money laundering in the excise policy stems from a CBI FIR,The agency is also expected to question senior AAP leader and minister Satyendar Jain, arrested and lodged in Tihar jail, in connection with this case on Friday, after it obtained permission from a local court to do so.Jain was arrested by the ED on May 30 in an another criminal case filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) linked to alleged hawala dealings.KejriwalAddressing a press conference, chief minister Kejriwal said the Lieutenant Governor, the CBI and the BJP have quoted varying amounts of money involved in the alleged liquor scam but he doesn’t understand what it is really about.“One of their (BJP) leaders says that it is a scam of Rs 8,000 crore, the LG says it is a scam of Rs 144 crore and the CBI FIR says there is a scam of Rs 1 crore. I don’t understand what the liquor scam is,” Kejriwal said.“The country cannot progress like this. They are unnecessarily troubling everyone,” he said.Kejriwal also alleged the BJP-ruled civic body plans to create 16 new landfill sites in Delhi and turn it into a city of garbage hills. At present, three landfill sites, Ghazipur, Okhla and Bhalswa, are located at Delhi borders.“People living in the vicinity of these landfill sites are affected by the foul smell emanating from these garbage mounds and a host of other issues. We have heard that there are plans to make 16 new garbage hills in the national capital,” the chief minister said.(With PTI inputs)
