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The Enforcement Directorate on Thursday chargesheeted YSR Congress MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy’s son Raghav Magunta, former SAD MLA Deep Malhotra’s son Gautam Malhotra and Rajesh Joshi, head of an advertising firm, and five firms in the Delhi excise scam.
Judge Vikas Dhull, who took up the matter in the absence of designated judge, fixed April 14 for consideration of the chargesheet. ED’s Special Public Prosecutor Naveen Kumar Matta told the court that the second supplementary chargesheet has named Raghav Magunta, Rajesh Joshi and Gautam Malhotra and five companies as accused in the Delhi excise case.
Magunta has been accused of being part of a South Group that allegedly offered ₹100 crore bribe to get a share in Delhi liquor business. The ED had also charged that the bribe amount was used to fund AAP’s election in Goa. Raghav, Joshi, head of Chariot Productions Media Pvt Ltd, and Malhotra are in judicial custody.
Further probe on
Magunta was arrested by the ED on February 10 and interrogated over his alleged participation in the South Group meetings to influence Delhi excise policy for pecuniary gains. The court was also informed that further probe was on to establish the role of the accused and others named in Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR). The ED is yet to file chargesheet against the main accused and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, who is also in judicial custody.
In its first supplementary chargesheet, the agency had named 12 persons as accused such as Vijay Nair, Sharath Reddy, Binoy Babu, Abhishek Boinpally and Amit Arora, and seven firms. The first chargesheet was against businessman Sameer Mahendru and other firms.
The ED has charged that excise policy was allegedly rigged to provide undue favours to licence holders including waiving off or reducing licence fee and diverting proceeds of crime to AAP leaders.
Supplementary chargesheet in Chandrasekhar PMLA case
The ED on Thursday also filed a supplementary chargesheet against three Tihar jail officials in a money laundering case against conman Sukesh Chandrasekhar, Bollywood actor Jacqueline Fernandez and others over alleged extortion of ₹200 crore. It was filed before Delhi Additional Sessions Judge Shailendra Malik against jail officials Mahender Prasad Sundriyal, Sunder Bora and Dharam Singh Meena, who were arrested earlier this year and are in judicial custody since then. Judge Malik will take up plea for consideration of the charesheet on April 18.
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