170 telephones price Rs 1.38 cr utilized in liquor rip-off, 14 by Manish Sisodia: ED reveals how proof was destroyed by Sisodia, others

On November 30, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) informed the courtroom that the Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, who’s accused of a Delhi liquor coverage rip-off, used 14 telephones. All the accused, together with Sisodia, Kalvakuntla Kavitha and Kailash Gahlot, modified telephones a number of occasions. As per the ED, Amit Arora, a businessman from Delhi who was arrested on Wednesday, additionally modified telephones 11 occasions. The company additional accused Arora and Sisodia, amongst others, of allegedly destroying proof.

The ED knowledgeable Rouse Avenue courtroom, “The magnitude of the destruction is such that most suspects, liquor barons, senior government officials, Excise Minister of Delhi (Manish Sisodia) and other suspects have changed their phones multiple times, where the approximate value of the devices used and destroyed comes to the whooping sum of Rs. 1.38 crores approx.”

ED mentioned, “An attempt was also made to see that the evidence pertaining to the commission of this scam running into thousands of crores were either destroyed which would contain valuable digital data and material to prove further kickbacks. It is pertinent to note that major evidence with respect to the subject liquor scam was stored in digital formats both on mobile phones and laptops, however, as soon as the scam was unearthed and the case was surfaced/handed over to investigating agency, a large number of digital devices were found to be destroyed/changed by the persons involved/suspected to be involved in this case.”

#ExcisePolicyRip-off में 36 आरोपियों/संदिग्धों ने 170 मोबाइल फ़ोन इस्तेमाल किये जिसमें से 17 मोबाइल फोन ED बरामद कर पायी है। मनीष सिसोदिया ने 14 फ़ोन इस्तेमाल किये, कैलाश गहलोत ने तीन मोबाइल फोन और गिरफ़्तार अमित अरोड़ा ने 11 मोबाइल फोन। https://t.co/gL0pDe2W1B pic.twitter.com/8zJepT3u9w

— Jitender Sharma (@capt_ivane) November 30, 2022

ED famous that 170 telephones have been destroyed/used throughout the interval which was evident by the IMEI evaluation. The company managed to get better 17 out of those 170 telephones. The company mentioned, “At least, 36 accused/suspects involved in the Excise scam have destroyed/used 170 phones (as per IMEI analysis given in the below table). Fortunately, the ED has been able to recover 17 out of 170 phones, otherwise, the kickbacks could have been much more and the involvement of other important persons would have surfaced more clearly. But in even in these phones data was found to be deleted/formatted. It is in this background and hardship that the ED had to investigate. Despite this, incriminating material has been unearthed by the ED through the arduous process of extraction and examination of numerous devices.”

The courtroom granted 7-day custody of businessman Amit Arora to the ED on November 30. Notably, Arora is a detailed affiliate of Sisodia. Following Arora’s arrest, he was introduced in courtroom, the place ED sought his custody to interrogate him in connection to the Delhi liquor coverage rip-off. In the remand utility, the company mentioned Arora collected a bribe of Rs 2.5 cr from an L1 wholesaler. It was a set in collusion with Dinesh Arora, and the quantity was a part of the kickback cash. It was alleged to be paid to Vijay Nair, an AAP chief.

As per the company, Arora “arm twisted” Mahadev Liquor in April-May this yr with the assistance of the Punjab State Government and Delhi Government to give up their corporations. Later, the corporate was allegedly pushed to give up their license because it didn’t conform to pay the kickbacks clocking to six per cent.

Arora allegedly threatened Mahadev Liquor that in the event that they refused to pay the kickback (from the wholesale margin), their factories in Punjab could be closed by the Punjab Excise Department. Notably, the factories have been shut down by the officers of Punjab Excise by way of a verbal order.

The company famous that Arora performed a vital position in utilizing Punjab Government’s stress in April and May to get undue advantages by forcing the gamers within the liquor enterprise to give up their licenses as they didn’t conform to pay kickbacks and extortion.

ED mentioned Arora’s position within the rip-off was evident from the truth that he bought one L1 and two L7 licenses. Further, he was related to different affairs linked to implementing the brand new Excise Policy. The company famous he used to inform different gamers within the enterprise that “Hum hi government hain (We are the government)”.

The company accused Arora of utilizing Sisodia’s affect to get approval to shift one among his retailers. Sisodia allegedly intervenes on to get the job completed. It was admitted by each Dinesh Arora and Amit Arora of their statements. ED mentioned Arora was the H4 bidder within the Airport L7 zone. Still, he was granted the license for the placement. On his directions, Rs 90 lakhs and Rs 10 lakhs have been paid to the Excise officers for opening the retail retailers.

Vijay Nair lived in Government Bungalow

As per the ED’s assertion within the courtroom, Vijay Nair resided in a Government bungalow allotted to Cabinet Minister of Delhi Government Kailash Gehlot who was a part of Excise Policy 2021-22. Interestingly, Gehlot was dwelling in his personal residence positioned in Najafgarh.

सोचिये। #ExcisePolicyRip-off में गिरफ़्तार आरोपी विजय नायर दिल्ली सरकार में मंत्री @kgahlot को अलॉट किये गये सरकारी बंगले में रहता था और काम करता था मुख्यमंत्री केजरीवाल के कैम्प कार्यालय से। मंत्री कैलाश गहलोत नजफगढ में प्राइवेट घर में रहते थे। pic.twitter.com/AuMZ6B3Zic

— Jitender Sharma (@capt_ivane) November 30, 2022

ED mentioned, “Sh Vijay Nair is not an ordinary worker of the AAP but a close associate of Sh Arvind Kejriwal, the CM of Delhi. Sh Vijay Nair, as per his statement under section 50 of PMLA, 2002, functions from the camp office of Sh Arvind Kejriwal, CM, Delhi. Further, Sh Vijay Nair, since 2020, has been residing in the Govt bungalow allotted to a Cabinet Minister of Delhi Govt, Sh Kailash Gehlot, part of GoM of Excise Policy 2021-22. Sh Vijay Nair, does not have any other residence in Delhi. Irony being, Sh Gehlot lives at another private residence in Najafgarh.”