Two people, including the director of a pharmaceutical company based in India's Hyderabad city, have been arrested by Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money-laundering investigation and alleged irregularities in the now-scrapped Delhi liquor policy, media reports said on Thursday.
Director of Aurobindo Pharma, Sarath Reddy, and Beny Babu of Pernod Ricard were arrested by the ED late on Wednesday night under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Before arresting them, the investigating agency conducted searches of Reddy's premises and questioned him.
Since September this year, India’s economic intelligence and law enforcement agency and top anti-corruption watchdog conducted a number of raids at various locations throughout the country in connection with the case.
The probe started after Delhi Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena demanded an inquiry into alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the policy.
Delhi’s deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia and other officials related to the excise department have been named as suspects in the case. In October, Sisodia appeared before the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for questioning in the case.
Ever since the investigation in the case started, Delhi’s ruling AAP and opposition BJP have been engaged in political squabbles. The BJP has accused the AAP of "looting" the wealth of people of Delhi, and the AAP denies the claims.
The AAP believes it is being targeted by the federally governing party, one of the reasons being that the civic body elections in Delhi are looming, where the ruling BJP's main opponent will be the AAP.