CBI’s approver in Delhi excise case now arrested by ED

People familiar with the development said Dinesh Arora was taken into custody under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is investigating the alleged irregularities in the Delhi excise policy 2021-22, on Thursday arrested businessman Dinesh Arora — who turned approver for the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a parallel probe in the same case.

The Delhi government’s 2021-22 excise policy came to an abrupt end after lieutenant governor VK Saxena recommending a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the regime. (File)

People familiar with the development said Dinesh Arora — allegedly a close aide of former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia — was taken into custody under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), based on evidence that he played a key role in irregularities in the excise policy.

CBI did not officially react to Arora’s arrest. However, an officer with the central probe agency, on condition of anonymity, said, “I have never seen an arrest of an approver of one agency by another.”

ED has previously said that the excise policy, specifically brought by Sisodia, promoted cartel formations through the back door, awarded exorbitant wholesale profit margins of 12%, and “incentivised” other illegal activities as part of a criminal conspiracy by Sisodia and other AAP leaders to extract kickbacks from liquor businesses, and has filed five charge sheets in the case.

CBI, in November 2022, gave a plea in a Delhi court to make Dinesh Arora an approver in its probe in the case. In fact, citing Dinesh Arora’s statement recorded under section 164 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) before a magistrate, CBI in its charge sheet filed in April against Sisodia and others claimed that the alleged South Group paid ₹90-100 crore to the Aam Aadmi Party’s former communications in-charge Vijay Nair, of which ₹30 crore were sent by another accused Abhishek Boinpally through hawala.

HT has seen a copy of both the ED and CBI charge sheet. ED has so far filed five charge sheets in connection with the case, while CBI has filed two.

The Delhi government’s 2021-22 excise policy came to an abrupt end after lieutenant governor VK Saxena recommending a CBI probe into alleged irregularities in the regime. This resulted in the policy being scrapped prematurely and being replaced by the 2020-21 regime. Sisodia has denied all charges.