Delhi excise policy: Court remands Magunta, Joshi in judicial custody

New Delhi, Feb 21 (PTI) A court here on Tuesday sent to judicial custody Raghav Magunta, son of YSR Congress Party MP Magunta Srinivasulu Reddy, and Rajesh Joshi, director of an advertising company, in a Delhi excise policy-related money laundering case.

The Enforcement Directorate arrested Magunta under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on February 10, while Joshi, the director of Chariot Productions Media Pvt Ltd, was arrested two days earlier.

Both the accused were produced on Tuesday before Special Judge M K Nagpal on expiry of ED custody.

As the agency did not seek an extension of their custody, both were remanded in judicial custody, a court source said.

The ED has alleged that Magunta participated and knowingly assisted various processes or activities of possession, use, transfer, etc. of the proceeds of crime worth at least Rs 180 crore.

The ED cited various instances showing Magunta’s “prima facie involvement” in the alleged cartel that caused a loss to the government exchequer by way of alleged wrongful formulation and implementation of the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy.

Joshi, on the other hand, was allegedly involved in the delivery or transmission of the kickback of around Rs 30 crore, which was received from the south liquor lobby through hawala channels, and which he delivered to co-accused Vijay Nair, the ED said.

Joshi’s name had surfaced in the statement of approver Dinesh Arora, the agency said.

The ED claimed in a charge sheet submitted to the court that a part of the alleged Rs 100 crore kickback generated in the crime was used in the Goa assembly election campaign of the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party.

It alleged that out of the “bribe” of Rs 100 crore paid by the so-called ‘South Group’ of liquor businessmen and politicians, Rs 30 crore was handled by approver Arora with the connivance of other accused Abhishek Boinpally, Joshi and a person identified by his first name Sudhir.

The ED’s money laundering case stems from a CBI FIR.

Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and other excise officials of the government were named as accused in the CBI and the ED complaints.