RAIPUR: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested Arun Pati Tripathi, the special secretary of Chhattisgarh's excise department, in connection with the alleged Rs 2000 crore liquor scam. The central agency continued its raids on businessmen and others on Friday.
The excise official was arrested in Mumbai and brought to the state capital. He was produced before special PMLA court judge Ajay Singh Rajput, who granted his three-day remand to the central agency for further interrogation.
Tripathi, who was recently the Managing Director of Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL), a public sector undertaking, is responsible for overseeing all aspects of the state government's control over the liquor trade, from procurement to retail sale. No private liquor shops are allowed in the state, and all 800 liquor shops are government-run under CSMCL. The Beverages Corporation, which is a part of CSMCL, centrally procures all liquor sold in the state.
The excise official is the fourth person to be arrested in connection with the liquor scam. The ED alleges that the scam was carried out by a syndicate involving bureaucrats, businessmen, and political executives. Prior to this arrest, the central agency had already arrested Anwar Dhebar, the brother of Congress leader and Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar, as well as businessmen Nilesh Purohit and Trilok Singh Dhillon, who are currently in ED custody.
In a statement issued last week, the ED stated that it had gathered evidence of "corruption and money laundering" amounting to Rs 2000 crore between 2019 and 2022. The ED's remand report also termed IAS officer Anil Tuteja, a joint secretary in the commerce and industry department, as one of the key players in the syndicate. Tuteja, fearing ED action, had filed a petition with the Supreme Court, which ordered a stay on any coercive action against him and scheduled the case for a hearing on a future date.
The Enforcement Directorate continued its raids in Chhattisgarh on Friday, targeting the alleged liquor scam. The agency conducted searches at the premises of hoteliers Gurucharan Hora and Mandeep Chawla, who are prominent businessmen in the state capital. Anwar Dhebar, described by the ED as one of the key players in the scam, was previously arrested from a hotel owned by Gurucharan Hora.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel compared the current state of the ED to that of Bhasmasura, a mythological demon. The chief minister expressed concerns that Chhattisgarh would be targeted in such "attacks" after the results of the Karnataka assembly polls are announced on Saturday. He reiterated his accusation that the BJP is using central agencies as tools to target its political opponents.
