E-Paper
After Manish Sisodia's claim on officer's suicide, CBI responds: ‘Mischievous’
At a press conference earlier on Monday, Manish Sisodia alleged, "A CBI officer was pressured to frame me in a false case. He could not take the mental pressure and died by suicide.”
The CBI on Monday described Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia's allegation that an officer of the probe agency died by suicide after he was pressured to frame the AAP leader in a false case as a “mischievous and misleading statement”.
A deputy legal advisor with the CBI, identified as Jitendra Kumar, had allegedly committed suicide at his south Delhi residence last week.
At a press conference earlier on Monday, Sisodia alleged, "The CBI officer was pressured to frame me in a false case. He could not take the mental pressure and died by suicide.”
Hours later, “strongly” refuting the “mischievous and misleading statement” by Sisodia, the central agency, in a statement, said, “It is clarified that the gentleman officer Late Shri Jitendra Kumar was in no way connected with the investigation of this case. He was Deputy Legal Advisor in-charge of prosecution; in which capacity he was supervising prosecutors who are conducting the trial of already charge-sheeted cases in Delhi. Further, as per the Delhi Police, which is conducting inquest into the death, the officer has not held anyone responsible for his death in his suicide note.”
The CBI also clarified that the Delhi excise policy case was under investigation and as such, no clean chit has been given to any of the accused.
Also Read | A ‘sting video’ is BJP’s new ammo against Manish Sisodia. He calls it a joke
“The mischievous and misleading statement of Sisodia is an attempt to divert attention from the ongoing investigation in Delhi Excise Policy case, and also amounting to interference in the inquest proceedings into the death of the gentleman officer,” the agency added.
Responding to the CBI's statement, Sisodia tweeted, “I agree that CBI officer Jitender kumar was not an investigative officer. He was law officer dealing wid my case. He was pressurized to create false story implicating me. He cud not bear the pressure n committed suicide.”
The CBI had last month raided the Delhi residence of Sisodia after it registered an FIR to investigate alleged irregularities in the formulation and execution of the Delhi Excise Policy brought out in November last year.
On Monday, Sisodia also hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying he only thinks of destabilising governments in non-BJP states by poaching MLAs.
"I want to ask PM why officers are being pressured so much that they are forced to take such extreme steps. Arrest me if you want, but don't destroy families of your officers," he added.
He also asked Modi if 'Operation Lotus' is the only work that the Centre has.
