Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh will be in Enforcement Directorate custody till October 10. A special court granted custody after the ED argued that the lawmaker was a key conspirator in the alleged Delhi liquor scam and he had to be confronted with the other accused.
The ED in its remand application alleged that Sanjay Singh was a key conspirator who was aware of the policy change and the kickbacks that were allegedly received from beneficiaries. “Sanjay Singh has been part of the conspiracy of collecting kickbacks from the liquor groups in the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22,” the agency said.
Sanjay Singh, the ED alleged, has been involved in the “conspiracy of extending favours to private persons in the Excise Policy formulation even before the conspiracy of Excise Policy of 2021-22”.
“The investigation has revealed that Sh Sanjay Singh had assured to get changes through Sh Manish Sisodia in the then proposed Excise Policy of 2020-21 to increase the brand registration criterion for IMFL brands at the behest of Sh Amit Arora and Sh Dinesh Arora. In exchange of this, an associate/team member of Sh Sanjay Singh i.e. Sh Vivek Tyagi was given stakes in the business concern of Sh Amit Arora i.e. Mls Aralias Hospitality Pvt Ltd. Sh Vivek Tyagi has been closely associated with Sh Sanjay Singh for the last 10 years. Further, Sh Vivek Tyagi is also currently the Parliamentary Assistant to Sh Sanjay Singh. Sh Vivek Tyagi has no experience nor the means to join an investment heavy business like liquor business. It is therefore evident that he was only a dummy for Sh Sanjay Singh,” the ED said.
‘Accused Dinesh Arora old associate of Singh’
The agency alleged that accused-turned-approver Dinesh Arora has been known to Sanjay Singh since 2017 and has acted as a conduit for the MP to accept bribes from beneficiaries. The ED claimed that call details of Singh and Arora prove that the two have been in regular touch.
“Sh Sanjay Singh has close relationship with Sh Dinesh Arora since 2017 as revealed by Sh Dinesh Arora as well as from his call records. Sh Sanjay Singh’s associates/staff/team members namely- Sh Vivek Tyagi, SP Ajit Tyagi and Sh Sarvesh Mishra also have a close relationship with Sh Dinesh Arora. Sh Dinesh Arora has also introduced Sh Amit Arora and his other friends including Sh Kanwarbir Singh to Sh Sanjay Singh. Sh Dinesh Arora has been regularly visiting Sh Sanjay Singh at his residence in North Avenue and even has numerous calls as per the CDR,” ED said.
Crores received as bribe
As per the ED, Dinesh Arora carried bribe money in cash from liquor policy beneficiaries to Sanjay Singh. The agency claimed it had evidence to prove that crores were paid in cash to Sanjay Singh’s aides at his North Avenue residence. The ED also claimed that phone conversations support the charge that the main delivery was meant for the Rajya Sabha member. “Sh Sanjay Singh has received proceeds of crime to the tune of Rs. 2 Cr in the Delhi Liquor Scam.”
In March-April 2022, Abhishek Boinpally of the South Group allegedly paid a bribe of Rs 4 crore to get favours in the liquor licence allotment. This, as per ED, was done at the behest of Vijay Nair, a key aide of Manish Sisodia and a prime accused in the liquor scam case. 50% of this kickback was paid to Singh, it said.
“Out of Rs. 4 Cr, Rs. 2 Cr cash was collected by Sh Harinder Singh from Sh Abhishek Boinpally’s office in Defence Colony. Out of this amount, Rs.1 Cr cash was given to Sarvesh Mishra (Sanjay Singh’s aide), delivered by an employee of Sh. Dinesh Arora at Sanjay Singh’s house,” the ED said.
Detailing the money trail, the agency said the deal was fixed at a 6% kickback rate. “Dinesh Arora took Rs. 4 cr. from Abhishek Boinpally on the directions of Vijay Nair for party fund in March-April 2022. Dinesh Arora spoke to Abhishek on FaceTime and told him about it. Vijay Nair told to settle this against 6% kickbacks of credit notes from Brindco sales (Arran Dhall),” the remand plea said.
Dinesh Arora allegedly met Annan Dhall (accused in liquor policy case) in Annan’s office at Okhla and asked him to give credit notes of Rs 4 crore to Abhishek Boinpally. Dinesh Arora also spoke to Chandan (associated with South Group) to follow up on this.
“Out of Rs. 4 crore, 2 crore was taken by Harinder Narula from Defense Colony and out of it, Rs. 1 cr was given to Sarvesh Mishra (Sanjay Singh’s person) through Dinesh Arora’s statt. Harinder had picked up the said amount and the same was delivered by Dinesh Arora’s stall. Thereafter, Dinesh Arora spoke to Sarvesh on phone and told this to Vijay Nair,” the ED said. Further investigation conducted by the agency allegedly reveals that in March-April 2022, Harinder Narula had collected Rs 2 crore in cash from Abhishek Boinpally’s office in Defence Colony and delivered this to Dinesh Arora’s office in SDA.
The investigation has allegedly revealed that Arora has given Rs 2 crore in cash at Sanjay Singh’s house on two occasions (Rs 1 crore each time). Dinesh Arora, as per ED, has revealed that he had also picked Rs 1 crore in cash from the office of Indospirit in Okhla which was later delivered at the North Avenue residence of Singh.
“The above facts are corroborated by CDR location of employee of Dinesh Arora, who has communicated with Sh Sarvesh Mishra, the same day he has visited Sh Sanjay Singh’s house,” the remand plea said.
‘Bribe from Indospirit’
In a second alleged bribery instance, Sameer Mahendru of Indospirit also delivered a kickback to Singh at his residence, the ED claimed. The agency alleged the kickback money was used for Goa election funding of AAP. In return, Mahendru allegedly got a nod for the licence for Pernod Ricard.
“Dinesh Arora took Rs. 3 Cr from Sameer Mahandru in August-October 2021 on the instructions of Vijay Nair for Goa elections. Sameer had come to his café and spoke to Vijay Nair on facetime from his mobile,” the ED said.
As per the agency, this amount of Rs 3 crore was given in three installments. One of the installments of Rs 1 crore was taken by Dinesh Arora’s staff from Indospirit’s office at Okhla and this amount was handed over to Sarvesh Mishra at Sanjay Singh’s North Avenue home.
“After the money was handed over to Sarvesh, Dinesh Arora called Sanjay Singh and told that money has been given to Sarvesh to which Sanjay Singh replied that he (Sanjay Singh) is aware and Vijay Nair had already called him (Sanjay Singh),” the agency claimed.
The ED said Sanjay Singh was aware of the work that Dinesh Arora does and also about his links with the South Group.
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