Kejriwal party to criminal conspiracy in excise case, says CBI; AAP refutes

CBI alleged that Kejriwal already had a pre-conceived idea of privatising the excise policy

Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was "party to the criminal conspiracy" of the formulation and implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy since the beginning, the CBI has alleged in its latest supplementary charge sheet in the case, even as the AAP claimed that not one rupee of corruption has been traced so far by the agency.

Concluding its probe with the submission of the fifth and final charge sheet in the case, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has alleged that Kejriwal already had a "pre-conceived idea of privatising" the excise policy, which was scrapped after allegations of corruption surfaced.

"He (Kejriwal) demanded monetary support for his party AAP in the month of March 2021, when the policy was being formulated by the GoM headed by the co-accused Manish Sisodia," the agency has alleged.

"His close associate and in-charge of media and communication of the AAP (and) accused Vijay Nair was approaching different stakeholders of the Delhi excise business and demanding illegal gratification from them in lieu of a favourable excise policy," the agency has alleged.

The AAP refuted the CBI's charges.

"So why has not even a single penny been recovered till now? Despite questioning 500 witnesses and filing 50,000 pages of documents, not one rupee of corruption has been traced to any AAP leader," the party said in a statement.

Asserting the Aam Aadmi Party is a "staunchly honest party" , it accused the BJP of making false allegations against its leaders.

Both the ED's trial court and the Supreme Court have questioned the CBI's investigation, the AAP said.

"The ED court has outright stated that there is not a single proof against Arvind Kejriwal ji. The BJP and its agencies are doing everything they can to prolong his arrest despite having no evidence. But in the end, the truth will prevail and Arvind Kejriwal will soon walk free," the AAP said.

Kejriwal was arrested by the CBI on June 26 from Tihar Jail while he was lodged there in connection with a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam registered by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The Supreme Court's verdict on his petition challenging the arrest by the CBI is awaited.

In its submissions, the CBI further alleged that Vijay Nair acted as a conduit for Kejriwal to contact the accused persons of the "South Group" headed by co-accused and BRS leader K Kavitha and obtained Rs 100 crore from them in lieu of a favourable excise policy.

As the chief minister, Kejriwal had a role in "processing and approval of the manipulated excise policy", it said.

The CBI alleged that Kejriwal's "role has surfaced in transfer of the ill-gotten money to Goa" through two other accused -- Vinod Chauhan and Ashish Mathur -- through the hawala route.

"Further, as the national convener of the AAP, it was on his (Kejriwal's) directions that the money from the South Group was diverted to Goa for meeting election expenses of the AAP. He is also responsible for the end use of the ill-gotten money during the Goa Assembly elections as the AAP is the ultimate beneficiary of the same," the agency said.

It said the AAP's Goa incharge Durgesh Pathak was also allegedly responsible for receiving and using the ill-gotten money generated from the "criminal conspiracy" regarding the formulation and implementation of the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22.

According to the CBI, of the total Rs 90-100 crore paid by the "South Group" to tweak the excise policy in its favour, Rs 44.5 crore cash was sent to Goa for meeting election-related expenses.

Two former Goa MLAs, who contested the assembly polls on the AAP tickets, have alleged that they were paid in cash by a party volunteer for meeting campaign-related expenses, the CBI has alleged.

It has claimed that a cartel was formed between three stakeholders of the said policy -- liquor manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers -- by violating provisions and against the spirit of the policy.

All the conspirators allegedly played active roles in achieving the illegal objectives of the said "criminal conspiracy". It resulted in huge losses to the exchequer and undue pecuniary benefits to the public servants and other accused involved in the conspiracy, the agency has alleged.