Sanjay Singh a key conspirator in excise case, received ₹2 crore bribe: ED

ED said there is evidence against Sanjay Singh in the form of call detail records (CDRs), which prove the delivery of cash at his residence on two occasions

NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh is a key conspirator in the Delhi excise policy scandal who not only received ₹2 crore as bribe through his aides from accused-turned-approver Dinesh Arora but also played a role in extending favours under the now-scrapped policy, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) told a local court on Thursday.

The court sent the 51-year-old senior leader of the AAP to ED custody till October 10. (ANI)

A day after arresting Singh, 51, a Rajya Sabha member in connection with alleged financial irregularities in the excise policy, ED also said there was evidence against Singh in the form of call detail records (CDRs) that allegedly proved the delivery of cash at his residence on two occasions.

The statements were part of submissions made by ED’s special prosecutor NK Matta in the court of special judge MK Nagpal while seeking a 10-day remand for Singh on the grounds that he needed to be interrogated to unearth the modus operandi, money trail and associates or entities involved in the alleged kickbacks.

The court sent Singh to ED custody till October 10.

“It has been revealed that Sanjay Singh is a key conspirator in the Delhi liquor scam. He is closely associated with a number of accused and suspects, including (businessmen) Dinesh Arora and Amit Arora. Singh has exploited and has gained illegal money/kickbacks which are proceeds of crime generated from the liquor policy (2021-22) scam. Further, he has also played a role in conspiracy with others with respect to the excise policy 2020-21,” said ED in its remand note, seen by HT.

Reacting to the development, chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, speaking to reporters during an event, said: “The game of investigations end up wasting everyone’s time, including the government and investigating agencies.”

Singh’s arrest is connected to the excise policy in which the federal agency alleges that kickbacks were paid. The policy was rolled out for the 2021-22 financial year in November 2021, marking the exit of the government from retail sales of alcohol and allowing private companies to bid for licenses.

But the policy was scrapped when Delhi’s lieutenant governor VK Saxena asked for a probe, citing a report by the chief secretary who alleged irregularities. The AAP and Delhi’s elected government have rejected the charges.

Singh was arrested a day after a Delhi court allowed restaurateur Dinesh Arora to become an approver in ED’s case. Arora had earlier become an approver for the Central Bureau of Investigation but ED arrested him in July.

ED said Singh knew Dinesh Arora since 2017, and that leader’s alleged associates and staff — Vivek Tyagi, Ajit Tyagi and Sarvesh Mishra — had a close relationship with the businessman. The agency said Dinesh Arora, who used to regularly visit the AAP leader’s house, introduced businessman Amit Arora to Singh.

The agency alleged that Singh received proceeds of crime worth ₹2 crore. “Dinesh Arora collected ₹3 crore bribe from businessman Sameer Mahendru during August-October 2021, on the directions of former AAP communications in-charge Vijay Nair, since he facilitated the granting of Pernod Ricard’s wholesale business to Mahendru’s entity (Indospirits),” the agency’s remand note said.

Out of ₹3 crore, ₹1 crore was taken by Dinesh Arora’s staff from Indospirits office and was handed over to Sarvesh Mishra (Singh’s aide) at North Avenue, ED has said.

ED then said Dinesh Arora took ₹4 crore from Abhishek Boinpally (who represented the so-called south group) in March-April 2022 on the instructions of Nair for “party fund.”

“Out of this ₹4 crore, ₹2 crore was collected by Harinder Narula from Boinpally’s office in Defence Colony and out of it, ₹1 crore cash was given to Mishra through Dinesh Arora’s staff. Thereafter, Dinesh Arora spoke to Sarvesh on phone and told this to Vijay Nair,” ED said.

ED also alleged that Singh was involved in the conspiracy of extending favours to private people in the excise policy formulation. “Singh had assured to get changes through Manish Sisodia in the then-proposed excise policy of 2020-21 to increased brand registration criterion for IMFL brands at the behest of Amit and Dinesh Arora. In exchange for this, an associate of Singh – Vivek Tyagi — was given stakes in the business concern of Amit Arora,” ED said.

It said Vivek Tyagi had no experience or means to join an investment-heavy business like liquor, which the agency said proved that he was a “dummy” for Singh.

Vivek Tyagi, Ajit Tyagi and Sarvesh Mishra, have all been summoned by ED.