By Atul Krishan
Enforcement Directorate (ED) sources have revealed that former Deputy Chief Minister of Delhi, Manish Sisodia had used 43 SIM cards in 14 different mobile phones in connection to the Excise Police scam.
It has also been alleged that he destroyed the phones to hinder the investigation and erase evidence.
The sources claimed that out of 43 SIM cards, the ED probe revealed that only five were issued in the AAP leader's name or were owned by him.
"The phone that was used before the one seized by the CBI was broken and is no longer in my possession. I don't remember where the damaged phone is now," Sisodia told the ED.
The ED collected information regarding the real owners of the 14 mobile phones allegedly destroyed by Sisodia. These phones were bought and owned by Devender Sharma, Sudhir Kumar, Javed Khan and a company named Romado Clothes.
Interestingly, Romado Clothes bought the phone but cheated the seller, as their cheque bounced. The phone owner has now filed a cheque bounce case against the firm under section 138 of The Negotiable Instruments Act.
Devender alias Rinku, a close aide of Sisodia, was using the phone of Javed Khan on behalf of the AAP leader.
Devender borrowed the phone from Khan for some One Time Password (OTP) work for Sisodia in September 2022. However, the phone was formatted in October 2022, and the ED could not retrieve the OTP-related SMS.
Sisodia submitted two phones to the ED. The forensic report of the phones established that Sisodia reinstalled Signal and WhatsApp on July 23, 2022, shortly after media reports surfaced about the Lieutenant Governor’s (L-G) order for a CBI inquiry into the scam.
ED sources said Sisodia had been using an iPhone 13 Max Pro for 11 months but destroyed it soon after the L-G's order.
The AAP leader told investigators he had no idea where the damaged phone was. The ED has claimed that Sisodia created a legal facade by destroying the phones. The ED's case is based on an FIR of the CBI. The ED has filed four chargesheets as of now and they are investigating the matter further.