By Munish Chandra Pandey: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has been summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation for questioning on April 16 in the alleged Delhi liquor scam. While the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged vendetta politics, the probe agency claimed to have evidence against the Delhi chief minister based on which the summons has been issued.

According to a chargesheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate recently, Arvind Kejriwal spoke with Sameer Mahendru, a liquor businessman and prime accused in the excise policy scam, over FaceTime and asked him to trust the party’s communication in-charge Vijay Nair.

According to the ED, during questioning on November 12 and November 15 last year, Sameer Mahendru told officials that Vijay Nair had fixed his meeting with Arvind Kejriwal, but that it didn’t materialize. Following this, Nair allegedly connected Mahendru and Kejriwal on a FaceTime video call.

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“In the call, Arvind Kejriwal told Sameer that Vijay Nair is his man and that he can trust him. Kejriwal further told Sameer that he should carry on talks with Vijay,” the ED alleged.

Nair is one of the accused in the case. As per the probe agency, Sameer Mahendru and Vijay Nair allegedly conspired with others in the Delhi liquor policy scam.

Sameer Mahendru, according to the ED, was working closely with Vijay Nair and had been a part of several meetings with politicians and liquor businessmen.

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“This incident assured Sameer Mahandru of Vijay Nair’s credibility and clout and his ability to direct Pernod Ricard (a French Liqueur company) to select his entity for their wholesale. This incident further reveals the support Vijay Nair was given by the top leaders of the AAP, including the head of the party and the Delhi government, Arvind Kejriwal,” the ED further alleged.

The ED also mentioned that Kejriwal met a parliamentarian from Andhra Pradesh, Magunta Sreenivasalu Reddy, in connection with the liquor trade in the national capital.

Two of the key witnesses told the CBI that in the presence of Arvind Kejriwal, the draft copy of the excise policy was given to the excise officer and later implemented.

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