New Delhi, Feb 27 The CBI has found digital evidence from the systems of a hotel's business centre used by a Hyderabad-based coterie of politicians and liquor businessmen called "South Lobby" showing their alleged influence on Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia in deciding the contours of the now-scrapped excise policy, officials said. The officials said the members of the South Lobby, which wanted to swing the policy in its favour with exorbitant profits for liquor wholesalers, had stayed in the hotel in the national capital from March 14 to 17 in 2021 and used its business centre to make photocopies of some documents. During their stay, they had allegedly met Vijay Nair, the suspected middleman who was striking the deal with liquor traders to formulate the policy in their favour. The CBI also recovered two suggestions about the policy that were discussed in chats among the South Lobby members, they said.
