Earning of Rs 3000 crore, 59 new names…ED filed final charge sheet in Chhattisgarh liquor scam

Raipur: The Enforcement Directorate has filed the final prosecution complaint, giving a decisive turn to the investigation in the much-discussed alleged liquor scam of Chhattisgarh. Names of 59 new accused have been added to this complaint. With this, the total number of accused in this money laundering case has increased to 81. The agency says that those people against whom investigation had been completed have now been formally brought under the ambit of prosecution.

Following the instructions of the Supreme Court

Advocate Saurabh Kumar Pandey, appearing on behalf of ED, said that this final prosecution complaint has been filed in the special court of PMLA as per the directions of the Supreme Court. Earlier, 22 accused were named in this case and many of them have also been arrested. After the completion of the initial investigation, separate prosecution complaints were filed against him.

Crackdown on 59 new accused

Now ED has filed the final prosecution complaint against 59 more people. The agency says that sufficient evidence has been collected against all of them. The new names include Soumya Chaurasia, the then Deputy Secretary in the Chief Minister’s Office, former IAS officer Niranjan Das, liquor license holders, distributors and officials associated with the Excise Department. It is clear from this that the scope of investigation was not limited only to the business class.

Strong case of thousands of pages

According to the ED, the summary of the prosecution complaint itself is about 315 pages long, while the total number of documents reaches about 29,800 pages. These documents include direct evidence of banking transactions, records showing the process of money laundering and digital evidence. The agency claims that this evidence reveals the complete outline of the scam.

alleged role of officers

ED alleges that the then Commissioner of the State Excise Department, Niranjan Das, allegedly patronized the scam. According to the agency, he ensured that there was no punitive action at any level, allowing illegal activities to continue unhindered. For this reason the scope of the scam continued to increase.

Claim of earning more than Rs 3 thousand crores

ED estimates that the total income of crime from this alleged liquor scam was approximately Rs 3 thousand crores. According to the agency, this scam took place between 2019 and 2022, when the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government was in the state. It is alleged that this caused huge loss to the state treasury, while people associated with the liquor syndicate got huge benefits.

Arrest of politicians and businessmen

ED has already made many high-profile arrests in this case. In January, Congress MLA and former Excise Minister Kawasi Lakhma and in July Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, were arrested. The agency claims that Lakhma was the main beneficiary, while Chaitanya Baghel allegedly played a key role in handling the syndicate’s earnings.

EOW-ACB is also investigating

The state’s Economic Offenses Wing and Anti-Corruption Bureau have also registered an FIR in this scam and started investigation. In December, EOW/ACB had filed its seventh supplementary charge sheet against Chaitanya Baghel. The state agency claims that during the investigation it has come to light that the total illegal earnings from the scam could be more than Rs 3500 crore.