BJP's Sambit Patra alleged that Rs 100 crore advance payment was taken from two businessmen who have now been arrested.
New Delhi: Continuing its relentless attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over the controversial Delhi excise policy, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday (November 11) said that the policy details were leaked to Delhi minister Manish Sisodia's friends before being made public.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, BJP national spokesperson Sambit Patra said, "The excise policy was made public on July 5, 2021, but a copy of the policy was leaked on May 31, 2021, to the friends of Manish Sisodia that included manufacturers and cartels.
Patra also claimed that an 'advance' payment of Rs 100 was taken from two businessmen who have now been arrested.
"When the whole excise policy issue came as a scam and a CBI probe was initiated 140 mobile phones were changed by 34 people including accused number one Manish Sisodia. These phones were crushed to erase digital evidence," he said.
Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested two private company executives a case related to alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy in which Manish Sisodia is an accused.
The two arrested were Benoy Babu, general manager of liquor company Pernod Ricard, and P Sarath Chandra Reddy, whole-time director and promoter of Aurobindo Pharma, and they were taken into custody shortly after Wednesday midnight.
The ED claimed to have recovered a draft of the policy from one of the executives when the premises were searched earlier. The agency also claimed that investments worth Rs 200 crore in the retail liquor business were made by an entity in violation of the policy directives.
The ED has questioned AAP MLA Durgesh Pathak and minister Satyendar Jain, currently in jail in another money laundering case, in this case.
On the other hand, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has also arrested two people in this case -- Vijay Nair, former CEO of an entertainment business company, and liquor businessman Abhishek Boinpally in connection with the case