Excise policy case: AAP MP Sanjay Singh’s custody extended till Oct 13, ED tells court fresh facts emerged during probe

The ED had requested an extension of Singh’s custody by five days on grounds of the accused’s non-cooperative behaviour. The agency alleged that Singh failed to tell them the whereabouts of his old phone. It further alleged that fresh evidence has surfaced against Singh for which he must be further interrogated.

Senior advocate Rebecca John, representing Singh, argued in court that just because the agency sought five-day custody doesn’t mean they should be provided with it. “They have to answer for each day, each hour…,” she said.
John further alleged that details about money transfers to Singh’s family members were also being asked for. “The type of questions they asked… Why have I transferred Rs 10,000 to my wife… why have I received Rs 1 lakh from my mother,” added John.

Replying to the agency’s arguments of non-cooperation and withholding information, John said if the accused wanted to destroy evidence, he could’ve done so in the one-and-a-half years he had. “Police remand is not the norm but the exception… they have to make out a special case for it,” said John, arguing that the ED’s reasons to keep Singh in custody were insufficient.

While Special Judge MK Nagpal rejected the agency’s argument of non-cooperation to extend Singh’s custody, its argument stating the emergence of fresh facts during probe was accepted.

Noting that security concerns were raised by Singh, Judge Nagpal directed the investigating officer to ensure the safety and security of the accused in all respects.

Singh last Thursday was sent to five-day ED custody following 10 hours of searches, which ended in his arrest, after the agency claimed that Rs 2 crore changed hands at his North Avenue residence. Singh’s arrest came after he was named by businessman and co-accused Dinesh Arora, who turned approver in the ED case.

The agency, in its remand application, had called Singh a “key conspirator”. “Sanjay Singh has exploited and gained illegal money/kickbacks, which is ‘Proceeds of Crime’ generated from the liquor policy (2021-22) scam… (he) has been part of the conspiracy of collecting kickbacks from liquor groups… (he) has a close relationship with Dinesh Arora since 2017 as revealed by Dinesh Arora as well as from his call records,” the ED application stated.

It was also earlier alleged by the ED that Dinesh Arora gave Rs 2 crore to Singh’s associate, Sarvesh Mishra, at the MP’s house. Mishra’s house was raided by the ED in May.

The ED further claimed in its earlier remand application that its investigation revealed Singh assured changes in the liquor policy were made through former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia to favour certain businessmen.

“… in exchange for this, an associate/team member of Sanjay Singh, Vivek Tyagi (Singh’s Parliamentary assistant), was given stakes in the business concern of Amit Arora (M/s Aralias Hospitality Pvt Ltd)”, the ED claimed.