The Chhattisgarh Government has suspended 22 serving Excise officers following revelations made in the fourth supplementary chargesheet filed by the State Economic Offences Investigation and Anti-Corruption Bureau (SEOIACB) in the Rs 3200 crore liquor scam, marking the most sweeping administrative action yet in the case. The suspension orders were issued by the Commercial Tax (Excise) Department shortly after SEOIACB submitted the 2300-page supplementary chargesheet on July 7 before the Special Court under the Prevention of Corruption Act. The document implicates 29 Excise officials for enabling the large-scale illegal sale of unaccounted country liquor through government shops via a covert inventory system known as Part-B liquor, which allegedly operated from 2019 to 2023 in 15 high-consumption districts.

 

Despite being served summons in advance, none of the 29 accused officials appeared before the court due to the looming threat of arrest. Consequently, the Special Court has issued fresh notices directing all accused to appear before August 20. Among the suspended officials are Assistant Commissioners, Deputy Commissioners, District Excise Officers and subordinate field-level officers including Janardan Kaurav, Animesh Netam, Vijay Sen Sharma, Arvind Patle, Pramod Netam, Ramkrishna Mishra, Vikas Goswami, Iqbal Khan, Nitin Khanduja, Naveen Pratap Singh Tomar, Manjushree Kaser, Saurabh Bakshi, Dinkar Wasnik, Mohit Jaiswal, Neetu Notani, Gareebpal Singh Dardi, Nohr Singh Thakur, Sonal Netam, Prakash Pal, Alekh Ram Sidar, Ashish Kosam and Rajesh Jaiswal. Additionally, seven retired officers including A.K. Singh, J.R. Mandavi, G.S. Nuruti, Deolal Vaidh, A.K. Anant, Vedram Lahare and L.L. Dhruv continue to face serious charges of criminal conspiracy and financial misconduct.

 

The chargesheet details how selected distilleries were instructed to dispatch surplus liquor directly to pre-selected shops bypassing the legal supply chain, with these shops located in districts marked for high consumption. The illicit consignments were then sold alongside legitimate inventory under the garb of regulated trade, though the state exchequer received no duty on these transactions. Over 60.5 lakh cartons of Part-B liquor were sold in this fashion, accumulating an estimated black revenue stream of over Rs 2174 crore. Revised financial analysis and digital records have since suggested the scam’s actual quantum could exceed Rs 3200 crore. Investigators have recovered over 200 witness statements, including those from manpower agency supervisors, depot officers, shop salesmen, and transporter networks, outlining the structural complicity of field-level Excise personnel in protecting and enabling the scam. Proceeds from this shadow trade were systematically siphoned to a syndicate via cash agents and coordinated through a network managed by senior officers in collaboration with liquor contractors.

 

The investigation also indicates that the scam operated under active political protection, with former Excise Minister Kawasi Lakhma allegedly receiving Rs 64 crore in personal kickbacks routed through department officers, middlemen, and suppliers. SEOIACB has submitted four chargesheets to date, including three supplementary ones before this latest filing, while thirteen individuals including Anil Tuteja, Anwar Dhebar, Arunapati Tripathi and Lakhma himself have already been arrested. The judicial FIR names 70 accused overall. The agency is currently probing foreign liquor commissions, money laundering trails, and the role of state-level coordination units that helped institutionalise the scam. As the inquiry progresses into its most critical phase, SEOIACB sources confirm that further custodial arrests and asset seizures may soon follow.