Delhi witnesses its most significant arrest in the liquor scam. On Thursday, the Enforcement Directorate, also known as ED, apprehended Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The following Friday, the Rouse Avenue Court in Delhi sent Kejriwal on remand until March 28. Let’s delve into the ABCD of this scam.
In November 2021, a new liquor policy was implemented in Delhi. Prior to this, there were 864 liquor stores in Delhi, of which 475 were government-owned. However, under the new policy, the government completely withdrew from the liquor business and transferred it to private hands.
Before the policy change, liquor businesses earned a retail margin of INR 33.35 on each 750ml bottle, but post-policy, it escalated to INR 363.27. Similarly, a bottle previously sold for INR 530 now increased to INR 560. This resulted in hefty earnings for the business owners on one hand, and on the other hand, the government's revenue from excise duty on liquor sales drastically decreased.
Initially, the Delhi government collected an excise duty of INR 223.89 on a bottle priced at INR 530, but with the new policy, the government reduced the excise duty on the wholesale price to a mere 1% of the bottle's cost. As a consequence, liquor businesses were required to pay only INR 1.88 as excise duty on a bottle priced at INR 530, while each customer was charged INR 30 more for the same bottle.
On July 8, 2022, then Chief Secretary of Delhi, Naresh Kumar submitted a report to Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena. The report accused Manish Sisodia of improperly preparing the liquor policy. The accusation was that it unfairly benefited licensed liquor business owners and caused a loss to the government treasury. The Chief Secretary estimated a loss of INR 580 crores to the government exchequer due to the Excise Policy 2021-22.
Source: aajtak
Timeline of Arrests
CBI arrests Vijay Nair.
ED detains Sameer Mahendru.
CBI arrests Manish Sisodia.
ED also arrests Manish Sisodia.
AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh arrested.
K. Kavitha, former CM of Telangana's daughter, is arrested.
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is also apprehended.
Source: aajtak
Main Characters of the Scandal
- Manish Sisodia (Delhi Excise Minister) - AG Krishna (former Excise Commissioner) - Anand Tiwari (former Deputy Excise Commissioner) - Pankaj Bhatnagar (former Assistant Excise Commissioner) - Vijay Nair (former CEO of Only Much Louder) - Manoj Rai (former employee of Pernod Ricard) - Amandeep Dhal (Director of Brindco Sales) - Sameer Mahendru (MD of Indo Spirits Group) - Amit Arora (Director of Buddy Retail) - Others involved include Dinesh Arora, Sunny Marwah, Arun Ramchandran Pillai, Arjun Pandey, Buddy Retail Private Limited, and Mahadev Liquors.
