Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Manish Sisodia will be produced in court on Monday as his custody expires today, according to a report.
AAP leader and former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) late last month in the alleged Delhi Excise Policy Scam. He is in CBI custody since then.
Sisodia is accused of irregularities in the formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. Besides CBI, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is also investigating the case.
NDTV on Monday reported that CBI might not seek further custody of Sisodia.
"The CBI, sources said, may not seek further custody of Mr Sisodia and may recommend a 14-day judicial custody for him," reported NDTV, adding that the bail hearing of Sisodia is scheduled for Friday.
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Sisodia was initially sent to five-days custody that was extended for two days last week. The custody expires today.
While the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has taken up the ongoing investigation against Sisodia and other AAP leaders such as Satyendra Jain and Amanatullah Khan to target AAP, the AAP has maintained that the BJP-led Union government is using federal investigative agencies to unfairly target political Opposition.
CBI torturing Manish Sisodia: AAP
AAP national spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj Sunday claimed the CBI was "torturing" senior party leader Manish Sisodia and pressuring him to sign papers containing false charges.
Another AAP leader Atishi claimed that the CBI's actions brings to the fore its "failure" to prove any corruption charge against the former deputy chief minister. She also alleged that CBI arrested Sisodia to "please their political bosses".
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According to officials, the agency wants to utilise Sisodia's custody to locate the crucial missing file containing legal opinions on the expert committee recommendations on the excise policy, which remains untraceable even now.
"Manish Sisodia is being tortured by the CBI and being pressured to sign the documents containing false charges framed against him. CBI has no evidence against Sisodia. They never mentioned any evidence is missing. They raided his residence but found nothing," Bhardwaj told reporters here on Sunday.
Sisodia, who was produced before the court on Saturday on the expiry of his five-day CBI custody, claimed that he was "sitting for eight to nine hours and answering the same questions again and again" and termed it "mental harassment".
Atishi on Sunday alleged, "Manish Sisodia was not named in the CBI's first charge sheet, nor was his name mentioned in CBI's supplementary charge sheet. Neither the CBI nor the ED has any evidence against him. CBI arrested Manish Sisodia without any evidence to please its political masters."
The senior AAP leader also accused the BJP of controlling central agencies such as the CBI and ED. "The whole country is watching how Manish Sisodia is being subjected to mental torture and threats due to the BJP's false allegations," she said.
(With PTI inputs)
