Close aide of Manish Sisodia to turn approver in Delhi excise policy case

Dinesh Arora, an accused in the Delhi liquor policy case who is also a close aide of Manish Siosdia has offered to become the government's witness in the case and said he is ready to make "true disclosure voluntarily."

New Delhi: Businessman and close aide of  Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Dinesh Arora will turn an approver in excise policy case as he told the court during the hearing that he was ready to make "true disclosure voluntarily" about the case and that he wanted to be an approver in the case in which Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is also an accused.

According to news agency PTI,  Arora in response to the court's query said "there is no pressure or threats by the CBI or anyone else." Arora's counsel also moved an application for in-camera proceedings, saying it is a sensitive matter and the media should be kept out at this early stage which was not opposed by the CBI.

The court will decide whether to allow the CBI to make businessman Dinesh Arora, the 'close aide' of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, an approver in the Delhi excise policy case on November 14.
Special Judge M K Nagpal will also hear arguments on Arora's plea to grant him pardon in the matter and allow him to become a witness in the matter.

According to the CBI FIR, Arora has been accused by the CBI of receiving a bribe of Rs 1 crore from a liquor manufacturer on behalf of Sisodia.

Notably, Arora was granted bail by the Delhi court and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) did not oppose it as the accused joined the investigation and disclosed certain facts which were vital for the probe.

In August, the CBI had registered a case in the excise policy scam and issued a look out circular (LOC) against eight people named as accused in the case.

Among the accused public servants are Sisodia, then excise commissioner Arva Gopi Krishna, deputy commissioner Anand Tiwari and assistant commissioner Pankaj Bhatnagar.