The CBI detained Manish Sisodia first, according to Arvind Kejriwal, even though they had no evidence to support their arrest. His arrest has now been made by the Enforcement Directorate. Arvind Kejriwal, the chief minister of Delhi, claimed on Thursday that Manish Sisodia’s imprisonment is a top priority for the federal government. He claimed that the CBI had initially detained Sisodia but had discovered no grounds for doing so. His arrest has now been made by the Enforcement Directorate.
“Manish was first arrested by the CBI. CBI did not find any evidence, no money was found in the raid. There is a bail hearing tomorrow. Manish would have been released tomorrow. So today ED arrested him. They have only one aim – to keep Manish inside at all costs. By creating new fake cases everyday. The public is watching. public will answer,” Kejriwal tweeted in Hindi.
Manish Sisodia was arrested earlier on Thursday by the ED in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case. Before placing Sisodia under arrest, the ED, which is looking into the money laundering aspect of the liquor policy case, questioned him at Tihar Prison for roughly 45 minutes. The news was announced a day before his bail hearing in the CBI-filed liquor policy case. According to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the ED may employ Section 19 of the PMLA, which gives it the authority to arrest those involved or implicated in the investigation, if the investigating officer has “reasons to suspect” that the person is “guilty” of money laundering.
The Delhi liquor or excise policy for 2021–22 was later cancelled. Sisodia was detained by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on February 26 for suspected corruption related to its formulation and implementation. He will remain in jail until March 20. Sisodia, however, has submitted a bail application, which will be considered on March 10. While Sisodia was in detention, the CBI questioned him about the alleged manipulation of the excise policy together with his former secretary C Arvind and former Excise Commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna. On November 25, 2022, the CBI released a charge sheet for the case, however Sisodia was oddly absent from the list of suspects.
The excise policy, which awarded booze merchants licences, was charged with encouraging cartelization and favouring specific dealers who were reportedly involved in bribery. Nevertheless, the Aam Aadmi Party refuted these claims (AAP). The policy was eventually overturned, and the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi asked the CBI to look into the matter. Thereafter, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched a case against the same alleged defendants under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).