CBI issues notice to Delhi Dy-CM Sisodia to appear for questioning in excise policy case on Feb 26
New Delhi, Feb 20: The CBI has issued a fresh notice to Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia to appear for questioning in the excise policy scam case on February 26, officials said Monday.
The notice was issued on his request as he had sought deferment of his previously scheduled questioning on February 19, they said.
Sisodia, who holds the finance portfolio in the Delhi government, had cited the ongoing budget exercise to defer his questioning and had also sought a date during the last week of February, they said.
Addressing a press conference, Sisodia, a senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader, said that he has been called for questioning on February 26 and will appear before the probe agency.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had filed its first chargesheet against seven people on November 25 last year in which Sisodia was not named as an accused.
The officials said in its further probe into the money trail and links between liquor traders, AAP leaders, middlemen and politicians, the CBI has gathered elaborate material on which it needs clarifications from Sisodia who is the prime accused in the FIR, they said.
The CBI has kept open the probe against Sisodia and other accused named in the FIR in the case.
Three months after the chargesheet was filed, the officials said, they have found details of meetings, message exchanges and transactions on which explanation could be sought from the the deputy chief minister.
The CBI is also armed with the confessional statement of Sisodia's alleged "close associate" Dinesh Arora, who is understood to have spilled the beans about how the excise policy was allegedly swung in favour of some liquor traders and the "South Lobby" of Hyderabad-based politicians and liquor traders who are under scanner of agencies.
It is alleged that the Delhi government's policy to grant licences to liquor traders favoured certain dealers who had allegedly paid bribes for it, a charge strongly refuted by the AAP.
"It was further alleged that irregularities were committed including modifications in the excise policy, extending undue favours to the licensees, waiver/reduction in licence fee, extension of L-1 license without approval etc," a CBI spokesperson had said.
"It was also alleged that illegal gains on the count of these acts were diverted to concerned public servants by private parties by making false entries in their books of accounts," the official had said.
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B'luru: "Least priority, shifted late," says brother of patient who died in Ramaiah hospital fire
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Bengaluru: Hours after a fire broke out at the Critical Care Unit (CCU) of the MS Ramaiah Memorial Hospital on New BEL Road on Thursday, a 34-year-old patient, Sujay Sujathan Panicker, tragically passed away. His family has accused the hospital authorities of negligence, which they claim led to his death.
The fire at Ramaiah Memorial Hospital is believed to have been caused by a short circuit. Initial reports suggested that there were no casualties in the incident.
Sujay, originally from Kollam in Kerala, had been residing in Bengaluru with his family since 2004. He was undergoing treatment for pneumonia, Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), and H1N1 since September 1 at the hospital.
Sujay's wife and father released a video accusing the hospital of negligence. In the video, his wife, Rohini Jayan, alleged that the hospital authorities took no action against those responsible for the fire.
Sujay’s brother, Sujin Sujathan Panicker, speaking to Vartha Bharathi, detailed the family’s ordeal. He said that despite his sister-in-law requesting assistance during the chaos, the hospital staff pushed her away, assuring her that all patients had been safely evacuated to the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU). However, Sujin claims that his sister-in-law did not see Sujay being shifted.
He further stated, “Sometime later, when a doctor arrived, she (Rohini) inquired about Sujay. It was only after the doctor questioned the staff that they rushed to evacuate him.”
Sujin added that by the time his brother was evacuated, 50 minutes had already passed since the fire broke out. "He was still inside, while all the other patients were taken out first. He was admitted to the hospital with a respiratory illness, yet he was given the least priority during the chaos. He was the last one to be evacuated."
He also claimed that Rohini had already noticed that Sujay’s condition had deteriorated and believed he had passed away, though the hospital authorities did not officially declare his death.
Sujin further stated that the hospital authorities called him and his father to the board room at the 8th floor of the hospital, where senior executives and doctors who had treated Sujay were present “During the interaction they (hospital authorities) claimed that Sujay was still alive and that his condition had worsened amid the smoke and that his chances of survival were less, which was not true.”
"Despite staff being present to evacuate my brother, they remained negligent. The fire broke out at 1:00 p.m., so why did it take 50 minutes to get him out? He was in a corner bed in the CCU, and it seemed they either overlooked the room or ignored it. Even after repeated requests, it took them 50 minutes to evacuate him," Sujin added.
Sujin also expressed concerns that the hospital authorities might attempt to influence the investigation. "They can influence anyone—any hospital, any report."
At the time of the interview, Sujin stated that neither anyone from the government nor from the health department had contacted the family.
A complaint has been filed in connection with the incident at the Sadashivanagar police station. "The statements of the family members have been recorded, and an investigation into the matter is underway. An FIR has been lodged under Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita (BNS) Section 106 (causing death due to negligence)," said Sadashivanagar police station Sub-Inspector.
Meanwhile, officials from Ramaiah Memorial Hospital were unavailable for comment.
