Delhi excise policy row: CBI examining Sisodia’s bank locker

New Delhi: In the latest development in connection with the excise policy row involving Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday was at the Punjab National Bank’s Ghaziabad branch to examine the minister’s bank locker.

Sisodia was also present at the bank’s branch along with his wife. Heavy police personnel were deployed outside the bank to avoid any untoward incident.

“CBI didn’t find anything during a raid at my home. They won’t find anything in lockers too. We are ready for it and are giving support to the CBI,” Sisodia said in his tweet.

The CBI team reached the PNB’s Ghaziabad branch at around 11.30 a.m. The examination of the bank locker was a part of the investigation. The CBI will have to mention this in the charge sheet.

The CBI has made Sisodia accused number one in its FIR in the excise police case. The CBI’s FIR has been lodged under sections 120-B (Criminal Conspiracy) and 477-A (Falsification of accounts) of the IPC.

The allegations against Sisodia were that the liquor businessmen were allegedly given an exemption of Rs 30 crore. The licence holders were allegedly given extensions according to their own will. The policy rules were made by violating excise rules.

“Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Arva Gopi Krishna, the then Commissioner (Excise), Anand Tiwari, the then Deputy Commissioner (Excise), and Pankaj Bhatnagar, Assistant Commissioner (Excise) were instrumental in recommending and taking decisions pertaining to excise policy for the year 2021-22 without the approval of competent authority with an intention to extend undue favours to the licensees post tender,” read the FIR, which has been accessed by IANS.