Home Ministry suspends former excise commissioner, his deputy in connection with Delhi excise policy scam

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Monday (22 August) reportedly suspended the then Excise Commissioner Arava Gopi Krishna and Deputy Commissioner Anand Tiwari, named in the CBI case into alleged irregularities in Delhi's excise policy 2021-22.

Earlier this month, Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena had approved the suspension of 11 officers of the Excise department including Krishna and Tiwari in the case. An IAS officer, Krishna was the Excise Commissioner when the policy was formulated and implemented last year. Tiwari was serving as the Deputy Commissioner.

Meanwhile, CBI last week conducted searches on Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia's official residence and carried out raids at several places in connection with the alleged corruption in the implementation of Delhi's Excise Policy. Both Sisodia and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal were in poll-bound Gujarat on Monday (22 August 2022).

Last month, the Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG) recommended a CBI probe into the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. Followed by, the CBI conducted raids at multiple locations, including the residence of Sisodia, on Friday (19 August).

The new excise policy had been introduced by the Delhi government to increase government revenue, improve the consumer experience, reduce corruption and redistribute liquor shops in an equitable manner. Under the new policy, implemented in November last year, only private liquor shops could run in the Capital.

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