New Delhi: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday, September 27, made its first arrest in the Delhi excise policy case, arresting Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and businessman Vijay Nair.
Nair, who has been abroad for quite some time, was called for questioning at the CBI headquarters on Tuesday, sources cited by news agency PTI, said.
Sources said Nair was arrested for his alleged role in “cartelisation” and “conspiracy” related to alleged irregularities in the allocation of liquor licenses in the national capital.
Introduced in November last year, the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy had become a flashpoint between the AAP-led Delhi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Union government after Delhi lieutenant-governor V.K. Saxena ordered a probe into its implementation.
After Saxena’s probe orders, the Delhi government scrapped the policy in July this year and in August, the CBI launched its first series of raids in Delhi, covering the residences of several AAP leaders and officials, including deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia.
Sisodia was one of 15 people named in the CBI’s first information report (FIR) in the case.
Thereafter, the federal agency conducted another round of raids on September 6, covering around 40 locations from across the country. Finally, on September 16, the agency conducted another round of nation-wide raids, prompting Delhi chief minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal to allege that the agency was “unnecessarily troubling everyone”.
Also read: ‘Unnecessarily Troubling Everyone,’ Says Kejriwal As ED Begins Fresh Raids Over Excise Policy
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) condemned the arrest of its communication in-charge, Nair, and alleged that it was part of the BJP’s “ongoing attempt” to crush the AAP and obstruct its campaign in Gujarat where assembly polls are due to be held this year.
Our statement on the arrest of Vijay Nair: pic.twitter.com/atClzhJiyB
— AAP (@AamAadmiParty) September 27, 2022
The CBI FIR had alleged that Arjun Pandey, an associate of Sisodia, had once collected about Rs 2-4 crore in cash from liquor businessman Sameer Mahendru on behalf of Nair, former CEO of Only Much Louder (OML), an entertainment and event management company.
“Source further revealed that Arun Ramchandra Pillai used to collect undue pecuniary advantage from Sameer Mahendru of IndoSpirit for onward transmission to the accused public servants through Nair,” it claimed.
Nair, a well-known name in the entertainment circuit, had started OML, a management company for independent bands that gradually shifted its focus towards the comedy scene with some noted standup artists, comedy collectives and live music shows, according to PTI.
Nair’s leadership at OML came under controversy, including #MeToo allegations, which were strongly denied by him.
Mahendru was the second person to be arrested in the case as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) took him into custody Wednesday morning, reportedly after being questioned throughout the night. He is expected to be produced before a local court where the ED will seek further remand.
(With PTI inputs)
