Delhi liquor scam: Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia to CBI custody till March 4

The Central Bureau of Investigation had sought five-day custody of Sisodia, who was arrested by the investigative agency on Sunday. Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia has been remanded to five-days judicial custody in the alleged liquor policy scam case. Delhi liquor scam: Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia to CBI custody till March 4.

The Central Bureau of Investigation had sought five-day custody of Sisodia, who was arrested by the investigative agency on Sunday after questioning the senior Aam Aadmi Party leader for over 8 hours. Meanwhile, security has been beefed up at several locations, across Delhi and other parts of the country, in anticipation of protests by Aam Aadmi Party workers following the deputy chief minister’s arrest.

AAP workers had clashes with police in several states across India as they launched a nationwide protest against Siodia’s arrest today.Sisodia’s, arrest is another biggest high-profile action against an Opposition leader, after that of Satyendar Jain, Delhi’s the then health minister, in June last year.

Delhi Dy CM was arrested after nearly eight hours of questioning on various aspects of the excise policy for 2021-22, which the probe agency says suffered from irregularities both in its formulation and implementation, allegedly intended to benefit people with links to the AAP.

The CBI investigators were not satisfied with Sisodia’s answers, an official said, adding he was not cooperating in the probe and avoided clarifications sought on crucial points. “He gave evasive replies and did not cooperate in the investigation despite being confronted with evidence to the contrary. Therefore, he has been arrested,” the CBI said in a statement.

His arrest by the Central Investigation agency is seen as a move that could plunge the city into a governance crisis and further widen the political rift between the AAP and the BJP-led Centre.

Both Sisodia and Jain have been credited for what the Aam Aadmi Party describes as the successful transformation of Delhi’s education and health services, contributing to the party’s popularity and continued electoral success. Their absence in the government would leave Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal with no heavyweight lieutenant to implement his governance agenda in Delhi.

Reacting to the development, Kejriwal said his deputy was innocent and termed the arrest “dirty politics”.“Manish is innocent. His arrest is dirty politics. It has angered people quite a lot. People are watching everything. People now understand everything and will give reply to this. It will boost our spirit and our struggle will only get stronger,” Kejriwal said in a tweet in Hindi.

“It is a black day for democracy,” the AAP said while claiming that Sisodia was innocent and has been arrested due to vendetta politics, a charge rejected by the BJP which said the law was taking its course.

Chief Minister Kejriwal also shared Sisodia’s letter on Twitter, which he wrote to Delhiites before leaving for the CBI office for questioning in the Delhi excise policy case.

In his letter, Sisodia said, “I might have to stay in jail for a few months, but I am not worried about it at all.”He said false allegations have been levelled against him and he is confident that he will be cleared of all charges in court.

“These people are going to arrest me today. They have levelled false allegations against me. I am sure all these cases will be dismissed in court, but it might take some time. It is possible that I might have to stay in jail for a few months. But I am not worried about it at all,” Sisodia said in his letter, without naming anyone.“We are followers of Bhagat Singh. He embraced capital punishment for the sake of the country. Going to jail is a small thing,” he added. Kejriwal and his Punjab counterpart Bhagwant Mann visited Sisodia’s residence to meet his family members after the arrest.

Meanwhile, the BJP alleged that AAP leaders had failed to explain several questionable actions in the Delhi excise policy matter, and said that agencies do not work on emotion but look into technicalities. While the Delhi Congress demanded that Kejriwal should also be arrested and called him the “mastermind”, the Trinamool Congress took a swipe at the BJP, saying only agencies like the CBI and the ED remain its “true allies”.

Manish Sisodia, who also holds the finance portfolio, was summoned last Sunday but he sought deferment of his questioning citing the ongoing Budget exercise, following which, the CBI had asked him to appear on February 26. This was the second round of questioning of Sisodia after the agency registered a case on August 17 last year. He was quizzed on October 17 last year.

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