New Delhi: The CBI today refuted Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s claim that one of its officers had been driven to suicide by the pressure to frame the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader in a false case.
“A CBI officer was pressured to frame me in a false excise case. He could not take the mental pressure and died by suicide two days ago. This is really unfortunate, I am deeply hurt,” Manish Sisodia said at a press conference.
“I want to ask PM why officers are being pressured so much that they are forced to take such extreme steps. Arrest me if you want, but don’t destroy the families of your officers,” added the Deputy Chief Minister, who has been named an accused by the CBI in an alleged liquor scam in Delhi.
Mr Sisodia was referring to Jitendra Kumar, a Deputy Legal Advisor in CBI, who was found dead at his south Delhi home on Thursday. According to him, Mr Kumar was under immense pressure to trap Mr Sisodia in a false case.
Shortly after his allegation, the CBI said it “strongly refutes this mischievous and misleading statement” by Mr Sisodia.
“It is clarified that the gentleman officer Jitendra Kumar was in no way connected with the investigation of this case. He was Deputy Legal Advisor in-charge of prosecution; in which capacity he was supervising prosecutors who are conducting the trial of already charge-sheeted cases in Delhi. Further, as per the Delhi Police, which is conducting an inquest into the death, the officer has not held anyone responsible for his death in his suicide note,” the CBI said. The agency also responded to Mr Sisodia’s assertion in the press conference that nothing had been found from his home or his bank locker by the CBI.
The agency searched Mr. Sisodia’s home in connection with allegations of corruption in a new Delhi liquor policy that the AAP government implemented for nine months before withdrawing it amid controversy.
“The Excise policy case is under investigation. As such no clean chit has been given to any of the accused. The mischievous and misleading statement of Mr. Sisodia is an attempt to divert attention from the ongoing investigation in Delhi Excise Policy case, and also amounting to interference in the inquest proceedings into the death of the gentleman officer,” the CBI said in its statement.
