Excise policy scam: ED questions Delhi minister Satyendar Jain in Tihar

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday questioned Delhi minister and AAP leader Satyendar Jain inside the Tihar jail in a money laundering probe linked to alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped excise policy, official sources said.

Officials of the agency recorded Jain's statement according to the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED had moved a local court seeking its permission for the questioning. The court authorised the probe agency to carry out questioning on September 16, 22 and 23.

Jain was arrested by the ED on May 30 in another criminal case linked to alleged hawala dealings. A minister without a portfolio in the Delhi government, Jain had held health and power portfolios before he was taken into custody by the ED.

The sources said the agency wants to know and understand from Jain about the cabinet approvals given by the AAP government for implementing the new excise policy.

The policy implemented on November 17, 2021, was scrapped by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's government in July this year after Delhi LG V K Saxena recommended a CBI probe into its implementation.

The agency also launched fresh raids in this case on Friday and searched as many as 40 locations in states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and the Delhi-NCR.

The ED's money laundering case in the excise policy stems from a CBI FIR in which Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and some bureaucrats have been named as accused.

The CBI had conducted raids in the case on August 19, covering the Delhi residences of Sisodia, IAS officer and former Delhi excise commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna, and 19 other locations across seven states and Union territories.

Sisodia holds multiple portfolios in the Arvind Kejriwal government, including education and excise.

The ED is probing if there are irregularities in the formulation and execution of the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22 brought out in November last year.