A court in Delhi on Friday extended the Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody of AAP leader Manish Sisodia, who was arrested in a money laundering case related to the Delhi excise policy, by five days.
Sisodia was brought before special judge M K Nagpal, who granted him bail until March 22. The ED had requested a seven-day extension of Sisodia’s detention.
The Rouse Avenue Court premises were heavily secured both inside and outside.
The Enforcement Directorate informed the court that vital information had surfaced during Sisodia’s detention and that he needed to be confronted with other accused persons. Former excise commissioner Rahul Singh, Dinesh Arora, and Amit Arora were among them.
According to the ED, the former Delhi deputy chief minister had to face his former secretary C Arvind as well. C Arvind is not a defendant in the case.
The investigation agency also informed the court that a large amount of data from Sisodia’s email, mobile phone, and other devices is being forensically examined.
In response to the ED’s plea, Sisodia’s lawyer stated that the agency has not said anything about the proceeds of the crime, which is central to the case. There is no justification for the extension of custody, and Sisodia was only confronted with four people during his previous seven-day confinement, he claims.
Sisodia was arrested on March 9 in Tihar jail in connection with a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) case involving alleged corruption in the formulation and implementation of the now-cancelled Delhi excise policy for 2021-22. On February 26, the CBI arrested Sisodia.
