Arrest Warrant Issued for Chhattisgarh Businessman in Jharkhand Liquor Scam

Ranchi – An arrest warrant has been issued by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Special Court in Ranchi against Siddharth Singhania, a businessman from Chhattisgarh, for his alleged involvement in the Jharkhand liquor scam.

This follows a similar warrant issued a day earlier against Vinay Kumar Singh, a Ranchi-based automobile businessman, after both failed to appear for questioning despite being summoned by the ACB.

Acting on the court's orders, ACB teams have launched raids to locate the two accused. In a broader probe, notices for questioning have also been sent to others including Saroj and Bachcha Lohia, Atima Khanna (Raipur), Manish Jain and Rajiv Dwivedi (Bhopal), and Ajit Jaisingh Rao, Amit Prabhakar Solanki, and Sunil Marutre Kumbhkar (Pune).

None have responded yet, and the ACB may seek warrants against them if they continue to avoid questioning.

As per the ACB, the liquor scam has caused a financial loss exceeding ?38 crore to the Jharkhand government, with the figure expected to rise as the investigation progresses.

Three individuals are currently in two-day custody for further interrogation: Sudhir Kumar Das and Sudhir Kumar, both former GMs of JSBCL, and Neeraj Kumar Singh, a local representative of a manpower supply agency for liquor shops.

The investigation has exposed a deep connection between players in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Notably, a diary seized from Siddharth Singhania’s home during a Chhattisgarh raid revealed the workings of a larger syndicate operating in Jharkhand’s illegal liquor trade.

So far, five arrests have been made in the case, including senior government and corporate figures involved in the scam.

With inputs from IANS