New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday conducted searches at multiple locations spread across Delhi and five states as part of a money laundering investigation into alleged irregularities in the Delhi Excise Policy, officials said.
Searches were underway at the home of accused Sameer Mahendru in Delhi. Raids are also being carried out at other locations in the city, as well as in Gurugram, Lucknow, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Bengaluru. Around 30 location are being searched but these do not include premises linked to Manish Sisodia or any other government servant, they said.
The probe in the case was initiated under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), after taking cognisance of a CBI FIR that has named Mr Sisodia and 14 others.
Earlier on August 19, the CBI had raid residences of Mr Sisodia, 50, IAS officer and former Delhi excise commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna, and 19 other locations across seven states and Union Territories.
In its FIR, the central probe agency has named as accused Manish Sisodia, who holds the excise portfolio, ex-excise commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna, ex-deputy excise commissioner Anand Kumar Tiwari, assistant excise commissioner Pankaj Bhatnagar, nine businessmen and two companies.
According to the CBI FIR, at least two payments running into crores were allegedly made to Sisodia’s “close associates” by Sameer Mahendru, the owner of Indospirits, who was one of the liquor traders allegedly involved in irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy.