Chhattisgarh liquor scam: ED finds land worth Rs 21 cr from Raipur mayor’s brother

New Delhi: A land plot worth over Rs 21 crore allegedly acquired by Congress leader and elder brother of Raipur Mayor Ejaz Dhebra Anwar Dhebra has been found in fresh searches by the ED in the Chhattisgarh liquor syndicate scam case. The federal probe agency, in a statement on Monday, also alleged that Arun Pati Tripathi, former managing director of the Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL), “corrupted the entire liquor system of Chhattisgarh at the behest of Anwar Dhebar.”

Tripathi, an Indian Telecom Service (ITS) officer, was the fourth person arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the case last week. He also held the charge of Special Secretary in the State Excise Department.

Anwar Dhebar, hotelier Nitesh Purohit and liquor baron Trilok Singh Dhillon have been taken into custody by the agency as part of its investigation. All four are currently in judicial custody.

In the statement, the ED said that the latest round of searches at Raipur and Bhilai in Chhattisgarh and Mumbai resulted in the discovery of 53 acres of land (book value of Rs 21.60 crore) in Naya Raipur acquired by Anwar Dhebar. Using proceeds of crime in the name of a JV (Joint Venture).

“The property was purchased through a transaction in the name of an associate by routing the proceeds of crime received from the FL-10A licensee,” the agency alleged. On the alleged nexus between Anwar Dhebar and Tripathi, the agency claimed that the former CSMCL MD “corrupted the entire liquor system of Chhattisgarh to maximize corruption in the department through his direct actions at the behest of Anwar Dhebar”. .

He in connivance with his other associates made policy changes and floated tenders to associates of Anwar Dhebar so as to reap maximum benefits under Part-A, Part-B, Part-C and FL10A heads.

The agency said that despite being a senior officer, he went against the working ethos of the state excise department and used state shops to sell unaccounted ‘kachha’ (country) liquor. “His (Tripathi’s) connivance resulted in huge loss to the state exchequer and illegal earnings of over Rs 2,000 crore were pocketed by the beneficiaries of the liquor syndicate,” the ED said.

The agency claimed that Tripathi also got a “substantial share of the loot”. Thus, the objective of CSMCL to augment state revenue and provide quality-controlled liquor to citizens was violated by him (Tripathi) for his personal illegal gains, it alleged. The agency had earlier said that “corruption” was done in four ways as part of this bootlegging syndicate.

The ED alleged that Part-A pertains to “commission” and kickbacks received from distillers in the case of liquor procured from them by CSMCL. It said that Part-B pertains to sale of “unaccounted” ‘raw’ liquor. The ED claimed that not even a single rupee reached the government exchequer and the entire sale amount went into the syndicate’s pocket and the “illicit” liquor was sold only from government shops.

The agency alleged that under Part-C of the scam, “bribes” were taken from distillers to allow them to form cartels and have a certain market share. The ED said that during the recent searches, it seized Rs 20 lakh in cash and “unaccounted” investments of around Rs 1 crore along with a share trading firm in the name of Arvind Singh (an alleged accused in the case) and (his wife). Pinky Singh. The money laundering case stems from a 2022 charge sheet filed by the Income Tax department against IAS officer Tuteja and others in a Delhi court.