The CBI on Sunday evening arrested AAP senior leader and Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in connection with alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped liquor policy for 2021-22 after nearly eight hours of questioning during which his answers were not found satisfactory, officials said.
Sisodia arrived at the CBI headquarters around 11.12 am for the second round of questioning, they said. The officials of the Anti-Corruption Branch of the CBI grilled the minister on various aspects of the Excise policy, his alleged link with Dinesh Arora and other accused in the FIR, and details of message exchanges from multiple phones among others, they said.
The CBI investigators were not satisfied with the responses provided by Sisodia and alleged that he was not cooperating in the investigation and avoiding clarifications on crucial points sought by them resulting in his arrest, they said. Before leaving for the CBI office, Sisodia had expressed apprehension that he may be arrested. He held a roadshow and addressed his supporters before arriving at Rajghat.
“Going to CBI again today, will cooperate fully in the entire investigation. The love of lakhs of children and the blessings of crores of countrymen are with us. I don’t care if I have to stay in jail for a few months. I’m a follower of Bhagat Singh, Bhagat Singh was hanged for the country. It is a small thing to go to jail because of such false allegations,” Sisodia tweeted ahead of reaching CBI office.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Sisodia’s arrest is dirty politics and people will give a reply. “Manish is innocent. His arrest is dirty politics. There is a lot of anger among the people due to the arrest of Manish. Everyone is watching. People are understanding everything. People will respond to this. This will boost our spirits further. Our struggle will get stronger,” Kejriwal tweeted.
The Aam Aadmi Party Sunday slammed the arrest of party leader and Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in the alleged liquor scam as “a black day of democracy”. The party, in a tweet, claimed that Sisodia was arrested in a “fake” case due to political rivalry. Sisodia was arrested after eight hours of questioning by the Central Bureau of Investigation in the Delhi liquor case.
