Excise policy scam: Delhi court defers order on Sisodia's bail plea in ED case
Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 26 Apr, 2023 11:51 AM
New Delhi, April 26 (IANS) A Delhi court on Wednesday deferred pronouncement of its order on AAP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's bail plea in connection with the Delhi excise policy case being investigated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Special judge M.K. Nagpal of the Rouse Avenue Court will now pronounce the order on April 28.
On April 18, he had reserved its decision on Sisodia's bail plea.
The court had, a day before, extended Sisodia's judicial custody by two weeks in the case.
The ED had earlier submitted before the judge that Sisodia had planted fabricated emails to show that there was public approval for the policy.
The directions to send these pre-drafted emails were given to Zakir Khan, Chairman of Delhi Minorities' Commission, who then asked his interns to send the emails, the ED claimed.
The probe agency had also said that the 60 days given to complete the investigation against Sisodia are not over yet.
It said that it has found fresh evidence indicating Sisodia's involvement in the alleged scam, and the investigation is at a crucial stage.
The accused were identified as Mohd. Danish (33) and Danish alias Raja (30), both residents of Sambhal in Uttar Pradesh. Police have also recovered five high end luxury cars and SUVs from the possession of the accused.
The cause of the provocation is yet to be ascertained, an official told IANS, adding the situation is under control. Videos of the ruckus were viral on the social media. Many parked vehicles and a nearby police station was pelted on with stones.
The court had, on March 4, extended Sisodia's CBI custody for two days and listed his bail plea for March 10 and in the last two days, the CBI questioned him with key witnesses -- former excise commissioner Arva Gopi Krishna and former excise department secretary C. Arvind -- in this case, who recorded their statements in front of a magistrate.
A police official said that the two men, wearing masks, entered the bank branch at around 9.45 a.m. when only three employees were present there, and threatened the staff with a pistol. They forced the staff to open the vault where Rs 10 lakh was kept and fled with the money by 10.30 am.
The Chief Minister, who reviewed the arrangements for the mega event here, said Punjab is fully ready to host the sessions and asked the officers to ensure foolproof arrangements for the working sessions slated to take place at the holy city of Amritsar next week.
The arrested customers have been identified as Anil, Rajan, Sagir, Abhishek and Harish. The house belongs to one Neeraj Bhati. Police recovered six mobile phones, Rs 2,100 in cash and objectionable items from their possession.
