The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday said it has arrested Indian Telecom Service officer and Managing Director of Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL), Arun Pati Tripathi in connection with a liquor scam in the State.
Tripathi who is also holding the charge of Special Secretary, Excise Department, Chhattisgarh was arrested on May 12 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Tripathi is from Indian Telecom Services and is working in Chhattisgarh for the last seven years.
ED is conducting investigation in the liquor scam which ran between 2019 to 2022 in which corruption was done in multiple ways like collection of bribe from the distillers as per each case of liquor procurement by the CSMCL and sale of unaccounted kacha off-the-books Country Liquor, bribes taken from distillers to allow them to make a cartel and have fixed market share, the ED said. Commission was also taken from FL-10A License Holders which were introduced to earn in foreign liquor segment also, it said
“ED investigation has revealed that Tripathi through his direct actions at the insistence of Anwar Dhebar, corrupted the entire liquor system of Chhattisgarh to maximize corruption in the department. He made policy changes in conspiracy with his other colleagues and gave tenders to associates of Anwar Dhebar so that maximum benefits could be taken…”it said.
Despite being a senior ITS officer and MD of CSMCL, he went against the ethos of the functioning of any State Excise Department and used the State run shops to sell unaccounted kacha liquor. “His complicit actions resulted in massive loss to the State Exchequer and filled the pockets of the beneficiaries of the Liquor Syndicate with more than Rs 2,000 crore illegal proceeds of crime,” it said. He also received a substantial share in this loot. Thus, the very objective of CSMCL to increase the State’s revenue and to provide quality controlled liquor to citizens was violated by him for his personal illegal gains, it said.
He was produced before PMLA Special Court Raipur and three days of ED custody was granted to ED for interrogation and the same has been extended further up to May 19. ED also produced Anwar Dhebar, Nitesh Purohit and Trilok Singh Dhillon before the PMLA Special Court and their ED custody has also been extended up to May 19.
ED has conducted consequential search operations at locations in Raipur, Bhilai and Mumbai, and the searches have resulted in discovery of a 53 acres of land in Naya Raipur (having book value of Rs 21.60 crore) acquired by Anwar Dhebar by using ‘proceeds of crime’ in the name of a joint venture.