The CBI, probing the Delhi liquor policy case, stated that two former Goa MLAs who contested the last Assembly polls on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) tickets have alleged that they were paid in cash by a party volunteer for election expenses.

The central agency, in its final chargesheet in a corruption case linked to the now scrapped Delhi excise policy, alleged that around Rs 90-100 crore was paid by the 'South Group' to tweak the excise policy in its favour, and Rs 44.5 crore in cash was sent for the 2022 Goa polls.

(The South Group refers to a group of liquor distributors and politicians primarily from southern states who were allegedly involved in influencing the Delhi government's 2021-22 excise policy.)

The CBI also accused Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of being "party to the criminal conspiracy". According to the fifth chargesheet, 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".

Durgesh Pathak, a Delhi MLA and the AAP in-charge for the Goa polls, allegedly approached the two former MLAs -- Mahadev Narayan Naik and Satyavijay Naik -- and asked them to contest the February 2022 Assembly polls on AAP tickets from the Shiroda and Valpoi constituencies, respectively.

"They have further confirmed that all the expenditures for the campaigning done by the candidates of the AAP were not paid by the candidates and it was paid by the party in cash," the chargesheet said.

Satyavijay Naik informed the CBI that AAP volunteer Chanpreet Singh Rayat, an accused in the case, allegedly paid him Rs 15-17 lakh in cash in instalments of Rs 1-2 lakh for election expenses, the probe agency said.

"They (Satyavijay and Mahadev) attended a meeting of all the candidates of the AAP, called by accused Arvind Kejriwal at Hotel Cidade De Goa, and in the said meeting, accused Arvind Kejriwal told all the candidates that they should not worry about the election-related expenses and only to concentrate on the campaigning," the CBI’s chargesheet says.

Mahadev Naik met Kejriwal in Delhi, and assured him that "all assistance would be provided by the party", the agency stated.

The AAP has denied the allegations, calling them a 'conspiracy' against the party.

Kejriwal was arrested by the CBI in June in a corruption case while he was lodged in Tihar jail in connection with a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise policy scam.

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

Source: India Today