Raipur: The Enforcement Directorate has filed a 16000 page chargesheet in connection with the alleged Rs 2000 crore liquor scam in Chhattisgarh. The charge sheet was filed by the probe agency in the special PMLA court of Raipur. The federal probe agency has named three key accused in the alleged scam- businessmen Anwar Dhebar and Trilok Singh Dhillon, and Arun Pathi Tripathi, a former special secretary of the state excise department, for "manipulating the government system to facilitate the scam".
What is the Chhattisgarh liquor 'scam': The ED has been raiding various locations in Chhattisgarh for the past few months in connection with the alleged scam. The probe has revolved around the key accused Dhebar, Trilok Singh and Arun Tripathi, who has been the managing director of Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Ltd (CSMCL).
Arun Tripathi's tenure at CSMCL under scanner: According to the ED, Tripathi, during his tenure at the CSMCL, manipulated the liquor policy "at the insistence" of Dhebar who had "corrupted" the entire liquor system of Chhattisgarh. Dhebar, the ED said, had in turn acquired 53 acres of land in Naya Raipur, with a book value of Rs 22 crore, with proceeds of crime.
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The ED further alleged that the CSMCL, headed by Tripathi, helped the accused in generating proceeds of crime by way of "bribes collected from distillers per case of liquor procured from them by the CSMCL" for sale from government shops.
'Proceeds of crime distributed among politically influential persons': The ED said in its chargesheet that the proceeds of the crime were distributed to politically influential persons and others by the liquor syndicate. The ED recorded Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) against Anil Tuteja, an IAS officer in Chhattisgarh under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 after the the Income Tax (IT) Department in May 2022, filed a prosecution complaint against the accused.
On May 6, the ED submitted a detailed remand application to the PMLA court.
Chhattisgarh govt alleges coercive action, 'harassment': On May 11, the Bhupesh Baghel led Congress government in Chhattisgarh told the Supreme Court that the ED was trying to implicate the CM in a false case saying that the ED wanted "to defame the Congress." The apex court had asked the ED not to create an “atmosphere of fear”.
