Delhi Deputy CM Sisodia Dared BJP To Arrest Him Over ED Raids

ED searches at 40 locations spread across India...

After Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia dared the BJP to get him arrested based on a 'sting operation' by the party, the Enforcement Directorate is conducting searches at 40 locations spread across multiple states as part of a money laundering investigation linked to alleged irregularities in the now-withdrawn Delhi excise policy, sources said.

Moreover, official remixes linked to liquor businessmen, distributors, and supply chain networks in Nellore and some other cities in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Delhi-NCR are being searched.

It is the 2nd time raids in as many weeks regarding the case. The probe agency had searched around 45 locations in Delhi, Telangana, Maharashtra, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka, in addition to raiding private individuals named in the case.

Today's raids come early on a day when Delhi minister Satyendar Jain, arrested more than three months ago in a money laundering case, is also to be questioned regarding the liquor sales policy in Delhi's Tihar jail.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who has accused the Centre of misusing central probe agencies for political vendetta against his party leaders, and denied any irregularities in the controversial liquor policy, will address the media soon.

Taking notes from the raids, the liquor policy is being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as well as the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which probes financial crimes, following a directive from Delhi's Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena, a representative of the BJP-led government at the centre.

Moreover, CBI conducted raids in the case on August 19, covering the Delhi residences of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, IAS officer and former Delhi excise commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna, and 19 other locations across seven states and Union Territories.

Deputy CM Sisodia holds multiple portfolios in the Arvind Kejriwal-led Delhi government, including excise and education.