CBI arrests AAP worker in Delhi excise policy case

Last week, the CBI had arrested a media executive, Arvind Kumar Singh, for allegedly transferring Rs 17 crore to Chariot Media, which handled outdoor advertising for the AAP during the Goa polls. Arvind was produced before a special court in Delhi Monday, which remanded him to three days of CBI custody.

“Charanpreet Singh allegedly handled a portion of this Rs 17 crore for distribution. He was one of the several persons authorised to collect money from hawala operators and distribute it for campaign purposes,” a source said.

On August 17, the CBI filed an FIR in the case, and two days later, it raided 21 locations in the national capital, including former Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia’s house. The first high-profile arrest in the case, of AAP’s communication in-charge Vijay Nair, came on September 28. Sisodia is among 15 booked in the CBI FIR – the others being three excise department officials and several vendors and distributors. The FIR states: “Manish Sisodia, Arava Gopi Krishna, then Commissioner (Excise); Anand Tiwari, 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 licensee post tender.”