Govt urged to approve prosecution against officers in alleged liquor scam

Ranchi: The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of Chhattisgarh Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has sought permission from the Jharkhand government to initiate prosecution against IAS officer Vinay Kumar Choubey and Excise Department official Gajendra Singh in connection with a major liquor scam. The case was registered by the EOW in Raipur, which also implicated Chhattisgarh officials, in addition to the Jharkhand-based IAS officer and former Excise Secretary Vinay Choubey.

The case came to light after a complaint was filed by Vikas Singh, a resident of Argoda police station area in Ranchi. After the investigation into his complaint, a First Information Report (FIR) was registered. Singh alleged that Chhattisgarh officials colluded with their Jharkhand counterparts in the liquor scam, causing a massive revenue loss to the state government. The complaint further claimed that a syndicate of officials from both states altered Jharkhand's excise policy, leading to significant financial losses. The investigation also revealed that both states' officials were involved in a manpower supply scam.

According to the allegations, meetings were held between officials from both states between December 2021 and January 2022 to further the illicit operations.

Earlier in April 2023, IAS Vinay Choubey and K. Satyarthi gave their statements at the Enforcement Directorate (ED) office in Raipur. The investigation by the ED uncovered that during the tenure of the Bhupesh government, a clandestine syndicate of Chhattisgarh officials and traders orchestrated a liquor scam. The probe further revealed that from 2019 to 2022, illegal liquor was sold in government-run liquor stores using counterfeit holograms, resulting in a significant revenue loss to the state government amounting to crores of rupees.