New Delhi. The Central Bureau of Investigation has registered an FIR under the Prevention of Corruption Act against seven people, including former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, in an espionage case linked to the alleged ‘feedback unit’ of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party.
The CBI, in its preliminary probe, found that the FBU, set up by the Delhi government to check corruption, allegedly collected ‘political intelligence’. The CBI registered the FIR on March 14, 14 days after the Union Home Ministry gave sanction to prosecute Sisodia.
According to the CBI, the AAP government set up the FBU in 2015 to collect relevant information and actionable feedback on the functioning of various departments and autonomous bodies, institutions and entities falling under the jurisdiction of the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi and to ‘trap cases’.
It was proposed to establish The central probe agency said the unit started functioning in 2016 with a provision of Rs one crore for secret service expenses.The agency alleged that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had tabled the proposal in a cabinet meeting in 2015, but no agenda note was circulated.
He alleged that no approval was taken from the Lieutenant Governor for the appointments in the FBU. The CBI, in its initial investigation report, had said that the Feedback Unit, apart from collecting information assigned to it, also collected political intelligence/miscellaneous classified information.
