A day after Delhi Deputy CM and AAP leader Manish Sisodia challenged the CBI and BJP to get him arrested based on the party's fresh 'sting operation', the Enforcement Directorate on Friday began conducting searches at 40 locations across multiple states in connection with alleged irregularities in the excise policy.
The premises linked to liquor businessmen, distributors, and supply chain networks in Nellore and other cities, including in Andhra Pradesh, Delhi-NCR, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, are being searched.
It is significant to mention here that this marks the second round of raids in the past many weeks in connection with the case. The agency, last week, conducted raids in over 45 locations across Delhi, Telangana, Maharashtra, Haryana, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh. It also raided individuals named in the case.
Sisodia's dare to CBI & BJP
While speaking to the media on Thursday, Sisodia said that the CBI should either take him into custody till Monday, September 19, or admit that the sting operation is fake.
He said, "The CBI did not find anything. The ED conducted its probe, but it did not find anything. Now, they have come up with a sting. I want to urge the BJP to hand over the sting to the CBI today and now itself. The CBI should investigate this sting and arrest me within four days. The BJP has done the sting and the CBI is the external branch of the BJP."
The AAP leader continued, "Otherwise, you know that this is yet another conspiracy hatched in the BJP's office and by the Prime Minister. Nowadays, conspiracies are being hatched there all day to topple state governments and to carry out CBI and ED raids and stings."
BJP aired a sting operation in their press conference which claims to show proof of AAP’s complicity in alleged Delhi liquor scam. The sting aired by BJP claims that total amount of Rs 100 cr was given by liquor giants to AAP in cash, to be used for elections in Goa or Punjab.
