In yet another setback for former Deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered an FIR against him and five others over alleged irregularities in the state government's 'Feedback Unit'.
The FIR reads that a preliminary inquiry revealed that the unlawful manner of creation and working of the Feedback Unit caused wrongful loss to the government exchequer to the tune of approximately Rs 36 Lakh.
The inquiry has thus revealed that the FBU was willfully created, staffed, funded and incentivized out of public exchequer in an irregular manner by Sisodia, and Sukesh Jain, the then Secretary Vigilance, along with RK Sinha, (Retired DIG, CISF), working as Special Advisor to the CM and Joint Director, FBU, GNCTD, and P K Punj, (Retired Jt. Deputy Director, IB), working as Deputy Director, FBU, GNCTD in violation of rules and regulations and without mandatory approvals, by abuse of their official position and with a dishonest intention to utilize the FBU for purposes other than those for which it was manifestly created.
It was also informed that the officers of FBU namely RK Sinha, PK Punj, Satish Khetrapal besides Gopal Mohan, Advisor to the Chief Minister conspired to misutilize and allow embezzlement of Secret Service Fund besides using the staff of FBU for gathering political intelligence.
Based on the enquiry, the CBI has ordered to convert the instant enquiry into a Regular Case under charges of dishonest misappropriation of property, criminal conspiracy, criminal breach of trust by a public servant, forgery for the purpose of cheating, using as genuine a forged document, falsification of accounts, and criminal misconduct by a public servant.
Currently, Sisodia is under the ED custody in connection with the case pertaining to the same excise policy. He was arrested during his judicial custody in Tihar jail.
On February 26, Sisodia was arrested by the CBI in the liquor policy case and was sent to 14-day judicial custody on March 6. He was arrested in connection with the alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD).
His judicial custody was later extended till March 20 by Delhi’s Rouse Avenue court. The ED also made another arrest in the case earlier, as it took Hyderabad-based businessman Arun Ramchandra Pillai into its custody.
The excise policy was passed by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi Cabinet in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021.
The Delhi government's version is that the policy was formulated to ensure the generation of optimum revenue, eradicate the sale of spurious liquor or non-duty paid liquor in Delhi, besides improving user experience.
The CBI had filed a case against alleged corruption in the 2021-22 excise policy. The excise policy was subsequently withdrawn by the AAP government.
