The CBI on Tuesday arrested businessman and former Aam Aadmi Party member Vijay Nair in connection with the Delhi Excise Policy scam case in which Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is also an accused.
Vijay Nair, who has been abroad for some time, was summoned for questioning at the agency’s office on Tuesday. He is the former CEO of Mumbai-based entertainment and event management company Only Much Louder.
Nair was arrested for his alleged role in “cartelization” and “conspiracy” related to alleged irregularities in the allotment of liquor licenses in the state capital.
The FIR alleged that Arjun Pandey, an associate of Sisodia, had once collected about Rs 2-4 crore in cash from liquor dealer Sameer Mahendru on behalf of the Nair company.
According to the FIR, Nair was “actively involved in irregularities in formulation and implementation of GNCTD Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22”.
According to the FIR filed by the CBI, Vijay Nair is the only person on the list of accused who is not connected to politics, a non-bureaucrat, and the owner of a soft drink establishment.
The FIR was filed after Delhi Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena directed the CBI to probe Delhi’s excise policy for 2021-22, putting Sisodia, in charge of the excise department, directly in the firing line. Following this, the Delhi government announced that it was withdrawing the policy.