The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has provisionally seized assets totaling Rs 52.24 crore in connection with the Delhi Liquor Scam case. Among those affected by the attachment are Manish Sisodia, Amandeep Singh Dhall, Rajesh Joshi, Gautam Malhotra, and others.
As per a statement issued by the ED, the attached assets worth Rs 52.24 crore include immovable properties valued at Rs 7.29 crore. These properties consist of two immovable properties belonging to Manish Sisodia and Seema Sisodia, a land/flat owned by Rajesh Joshi and Chariot Productions Media Pvt Ltd., as well as a land/flat associated with Gautam Malhotra.
"The attachment also includes movable assets worth Rs. 44.29 Crore including bank balances of Manish Sisodia (Rs. 11.49 lakhs), Brindco Sales Pvt. Ltd. (Rs. 16.45 Crore) and others. It is the 2nd Provisional Attachment Order issued in this case. The 1st provisional attachment Order issued was issued for attachment of immovable/movable properties worth Rs. 76.54 Crore of Vijay Nair, Sameer Mahandru, Amit Arora, Arun Pillai and others", the statement read.
According to the statement, the total attachment in the case now stands at Rs 128.78 crore, and the estimated proceeds of crime involved in this case amount to at least Rs 1934 crore. So far, the ED has arrested a total of 12 individuals in relation to this case and has filed five prosecution complaints.
The investigation is currently ongoing, and further inquiries are being conducted.
On March 9, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia in connection with the liquor policy case. This arrest followed several hours of questioning at Tihar Jail.
Previously, Sisodia had been arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as part of its ongoing investigation into alleged irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the excise policy of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD).
Kejriwal accuses centre of spreading fake news
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday accused the BJP-led Centre of defaming AAP leader Manish Sisodia by running "fake news" of the Enforcement Directorate attaching assets worth Rs 52 crore belonging to the jailed leader in the Delhi excise policy case.
He said the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has, in fact, attached properties worth Rs 80 lakh of Sisodia and his wife.
Taking to Twitter, Kejriwal said in Hindi, "Prime Minister, when you did not find anything against Manish Sisodia, you started defaming him through ED. Your ED is running fake news on TV channels saying that Rs 52 crore worth assets of Manish Sisodia have been attached." Kejriwal, who is also the AAP national convener, clarified that in reality, Rs 80 lakh worth of assets have been attached. These properties belong to pre-2018 period when the excise policy was not even framed.
He also said that these assets have already been declared.
"People would not have thought that a day would come that the prime minister of a great country like India would try to eliminate his political rivals by lying openly. Who is the actual corrupt, you also know. If you have guts, you should catch them," he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
