Vijay Nair, a businessman and close aide of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, was arrested on Tuesday by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the Delhi excise policy scam case after he “failed to co-operate” with interrogators.
This came a month after a Look Out Circular (LOC) against accused eight private persons including him in the case. Nair, who was abroad for quite some time, was called for questioning at the agency office on Tuesday, news agency PTI reported.
According to CBI sources, his name appeared after his alleged role in “cartelisation” and “conspiracy with chosen licensees” related to alleged irregularities in the allocation of a liquor license in the national capital.
Nair, Sisodia and 13 others have been named in the FIR which was lodged after Delhi Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena recommended a CBI probe into the Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which is the ruling party in Delhi, said Nair has nothing to with the excise policy.
ALSO READ: Delhi Excise Policy: Sisodia’s Close Aide Vijay Nair Arrested; AAP Claims He Was ‘Forced to Take Dy CM’s Name’
Who is Vijay Nair?
Nair, a former CEO of events company Only Much Louder (OML), is currently communication in-charge of Aam Aadmi Party. He has close links with several stand-up comedians and companies related to them. He is also indirectly associated with some other companies through his co-directors. These companies include Weirdass Comedy, Motormouth Writers and Rebellion Management, among entities engaged in online gaming, betting and comedy shows, India Today reported quoting officials who cited Registrar of Companies records.
Nair made a name for himself in the industry by organising music festivals such as the Invasion Festival, Bacardi NH7 Weekender, and the television show ‘The Dewarists’.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led party said he was responsible for developing and implementing communication strategies during the Punjab Assembly elections where the AAP managed to secure two-third majority. He is now handling same responsibility for the upcoming Gujarat Assembly elections where the AAP is trying to make inroads.
What Are Charges Against Nair?
The CBI FIR has alleged that Sisodia’s associate Arjun Pandey had once collected about Rs 2-4 crore in cash from liquor businessman Sameer Mahendru on behalf of Nair. The FIR further stated that Nair was “actively involved in irregularities in framing and implementation of the excise policy of GNCTD of Delhi for the year 2021-22″.
In August this year, Nair issued a statement wherein he refuted that he has fled the country and said he was abroad for “personal” work. In its FIR, the CBI has alleged that accused licensees and businessmen, including Nair, were actively involved in irregularities in the framing and implementation of the policy.
The AAP said that Nair was called for questioning last few days and was pressurised to take the name of Manish Sisodia. “When he refused to do that, he was threatened that he would be arrested. His house was raided twice in last one month but nothing was found.”
The AAP said that Nair’s arrest is a part of ongoing BJP’s attempt to crush AAP and obstruct AAP’s Gujarat campaign. “The whole country is watching how BJP is completely rattled by AAP’s growing popularity across India. BJP is unable to digest rapidly growing vote share of AAP in Gujarat. We strongly condemn these unconstitutional and illegal methods being adopted by BJP. All allegations against Vijay Nair and AAP leaders are false and completely baseless,” the party said in a statement.
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