The State Economic Offences Investigation and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SEOIACB) on Monday secured a fresh 7-day police remand of senior bureaucrat Anil Tuteja and businessman Anwar Dhebar in the multi-crore custom milling scam, marking a crucial phase in widening crackdown on food procurement corruption. Both accused were produced before the special court in Raipur after completion of their earlier five-day remand. SEOIACB submitted a fresh application seeking additional custodial interrogation, arguing the need to expose deeper layers of the criminal network behind the extortion of rice millers.

 

The court granted the request, extending police custody till July 21. Tuteja and Dhebar, who were already in judicial custody for other cases, were arrested on July 9 through a production warrant under Crime No. 01/2024. The case involves systematic abuse of authority, where millers were allegedly compelled to pay unlawful levies in exchange for processing approvals under the custom milling policy. Earlier in February 2025, SEOIACB had filed a voluminous 3,500-page chargesheet against former Food and Civil Supplies Corporation (FCSC) Managing Director Manoj Kumar Soni and Roshan Chandrakar, unveiling extensive corruption linked to unauthorised levies from rice millers. According to SEOIACB sources, the scheme operated through a nexus of officials and private intermediaries who siphoned funds from the procurement chain.

 

Investigative agencies had raided Soni’s residence in June 2024, recovering Rs 1.05 lakh in cash, three gold coins, and jewellery valued at over Rs 1.25 lakh. Prior to that, the Income Tax Department’s July 2023 raids on his premises triggered further scrutiny by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and SEOIACB. Soni was arrested on April 30, 2024, and his bail petition was subsequently rejected by the High Court, signalling the gravity of the allegations. According to SEOIACB officials privy to the probe, the current phase of custodial interrogation is focused on tracing the financial trail, identifying additional conspirators, and verifying links between the accused and disproportionate asset accumulations. “We are systematically mapping the fund flow to establish the full extent of institutional collusion,” a senior bureau officer told The Hitavada.