ED raided Pawan Khatri and some others in July and over ₹2 crore allegedly bribe money was recovered from them. The matter was referred to CBI earlier this month, which registered a case under the anti-corruption law on August 25.

Besides Dhall and Khatri, the FIR registered by CBI has named ED’s upper division clerk Nitesh Kohar, chief executive officer of Claridges Hotels Vikramaditya, Air India employee Deepak Sangwan and chartered accountant Praveen Kumar Vats, who allegedly acted as facilitators, as well as Dhall’s father Birender Pal Singh. ED arrested Dhall in connection with alleged irregularities in the excise policy on March 1. The Delhi government’s 2021-22 excise policy aimed to revitalise the city’s flagging liquor business, which has later been scrapped after controversy broke.