ED names 80+ accused in final liquor scam chargesheet

 

 

 

 

The Enforcement Directorate Raipur Zonal Office (ED-RPZO) on Friday filed its final Prosecution Complaint (PC) before the Special Court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in Raipur in the Chhattisgarh liquor scam case, clearing the decks for commencement of trial in what has emerged as one of the largest corruption-linked prosecutions in the State. The chargesheet, spanning more than 29,800 pages, names over 80 accused individuals and entities, bringing the investigation phase under the PMLA to a formal close.

 

The ED initiated the probe on the basis of a First Information Report registered by the State Economic Offences Investigation and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SEOIACB), Raipur, under provisions of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. The underlying state’s anti-graft agency investigation concluded that the liquor scam resulted in massive losses to the State exchequer and generated proceeds of crime exceeding over Rs 2,500 crore. According to the final prosecution complaint, the alleged syndicate operated through a network of bureaucrats, intermediaries, liquor contractors, distillery-linked firms and shell entities to manipulate liquor procurement, distribution and sale, thereby enabling systematic diversion and laundering of government revenue.

 

The ED has relied on a voluminous body of documentary evidence, digital records, seized material and written statements to trace the generation, layering and utilisation of illicit funds. Among those named as accused are former Indian Administrative Service officers Anil Tuteja and Niranjan Das, former Excise Minister and MLA Kawasi Lakhma, businessman Anwar Dhebar, Arvind Singh, Trilok Singh Dhillon, Arun Pati Tripathi (ITS), and Chaitanya Baghel, son of a former Chief Minister.

 

The chargesheet also names Soumya Chaurasia along with a wide array of individuals including Naveen Kedia, Janardan Kaurav, Amit Singh, Arvind Kumar Patle, Pramod Kumar Netam, Ramakrishna Mishra, Vikas Kumar Goswami, Jugal Ahmad Khan, Nitin Khanduja, Naveen Pratap Singh Tomar, Manjushree Kaser, Saurabh Bakshi, Dinkar Vasnik, Mohit Kumar Jaiswal, Neetu Notani Thakur, Garibpal Singh Dardi, Nohar Singh Thakur, Prakash Pal, Ashish Kosam, Rajesh Jaiswal, Jetram Mandavi, Devlal Vaidya, Ashwini Kumar Anant, Vedram Lahare, Lakhan Lal Dhruv, Ashish Shrivastav, Sanjay Mishra, Vikas Agrawal, Vidhu Gupta, Deepak Dugar, Anurag Dwivedi, Laxmi Narayan Bansal alias Pappu Bansal, Prakash Sharma, Sohan Lal Verma, Piyush Bijlani, Sanjay Diwan, Dipen Chawda, Yash Purohit, Nitesh Purohit, Yash Tuteja, Devendra Dadsena, Bachh Raj Lohia, Atul Kumar Singh, Mukesh Manchanda, Manish Mishra, Abhishek Singh, Ashesh Sourabh Kedia and Krishna Kumar Srivastav, among others. Corporate entities named in the prosecution complaint include Adip Agrotech Pvt Ltd, Petrosun Bio Refineries

 

Pvt Ltd, Dhillon City Mall Pvt Ltd, Chhattisgarh Distillery Limited, Bhatia Wine Merchants Pvt Ltd, Welcome Distilleries Pvt Ltd, OM Sai Beverages Pvt Ltd, Dishita Ventures Pvt Ltd, NexGen Engitech Pvt Ltd, Top Securities and Facility Management, Prizm Holography and Security Films Pvt Ltd, AJS Agro Trade Pvt Ltd, A Dhebar Buildcon, Prime Developers and Indian Buildcon. A substantial section of the chargesheet details the alleged role of IAS officer Niranjan Das, who, according to the ED, received proceeds of crime of around Rs 18 crore and facilitated the syndicate’s operations by abandoning statutory duties while holding additional charge of Excise Commissioner.

 

The agency has alleged that he received a monthly payoff of Rs 50 lakh and directed field officers to push unaccounted liquor sales, thereby playing a central role in both the predicate offence and the subsequent laundering of proceeds of crime. Officials said the final chargesheet has been filed in accordance with timelines fixed by the Supreme Court. With cognisance now expected, the Special Court is set to initiate trial proceedings, even as the ED has indicated that further investigation in connected aspects remains ongoing