Chhattisgarh liquor 'scam': 22 excise officials named in EOW chargesheet suspended by Sai govt

Raipur: The Chhattisgarh government on Thursday suspended 22 excise officials after they were named as accused in a chargesheet filed in the alleged liquor scam case.

Speaking to PTI Videos, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said his government has a zero tolerance policy against corruption.

"The truth about the scams that took place during the previous Congress government is being unearthed layer by layer. Strictest action will be taken against the culprits. No corrupt person will be spared," Sai asserted.

These 22 officials comprise 12 assistant commissioners, five deputy commissioners, three district excise officers and two assistant district excise officials, a government official said.

"Action was taken against them after they were named as accused in the chargesheet filed on July 7 by the state's Anti Corruption Bureau and Economic Offence Wing (ACB/EOW), he said.

The EOW on July 7 filed its fourth supplementary chargesheet in the alleged liquor scam that took place during the previous Congress regime, naming 29 excise officials as accused, seven of whom have retired.

The chargesheet was filed before a special court in Raipur, an EOW statement said.

"On the basis of previous calculations, this liquor scam was believed to be around Rs 2161 crore, including all types of commissions and sale of additional country liquor without duty paid in the shops. However, the fresh investigation revealed the alleged scam was worth more than Rs 3200 crore," it said.

These 29 excise officials were posted between 2019 and 2023 in 15 districts where unaccounted duty paid liquor was sold parallel to duty paid liquor from government liquor shops, the state agency said.

Some officers used to coordinate at the state level for this illegal liquor sale from the 15 districts, excluding those in Bastar and Surguja divisions where consumption of country-made liquor was high, it said.

With this supplementary chargesheet, the state's agency has filed five chargesheets, including four supplementary ones, and arrested 13 persons.

They include Congress MLA and former excise minister Kawasi Lakhma, former IAS officer Anil Tuteja, Anwar Dhebar, Arunpati Tripathi and Vijay Bhatia.

The alleged liquor scam in the state, as per the Enforcement Directorate, which has been probing the money laundering part in it, was orchestrated between 2019 and 2022 when Chhattisgarh was ruled by the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government.