The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) will question senior IAS officer Vinay Chaubey and Assistant Commissioner of Excise Department Gajendra Singh, who were arrested on charges of liquor scam, for two days. On Wednesday, the bureau had requested the special court of ACB to allow the questioning of Vinay Chaubey and Gajendra Singh by taking them on remand.
Vinay Chaubey's lawyers had opposed the ACB's demand for remand. ACB had asked for seven days' remand. But the court has allowed two days' remand.
IAS Vinay Chaubey and Assistant Commissioner of Excise Department Gajendra Singh will have to answer the questions of ACB for days. Currently Vinay Chaubey and Gajendra Singh are in judicial custody.
Last week, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday (May 20, 2025) arrested senior Jharkhand IAS officer Vinay Kumar Choubey in a money laundering case linked to the alleged excise scam in the state.
The officer was accused of causing Rs 38 crore loss to the state exchequer by indulging in corrupt practices. Choubey was taken to Birsa Munda Central Jail at Hotwar in Ranchi after a special court remanded him to judicial custody till June 3, 2025.
He was arrested after hours of interrogation by the ACB, which has been inquiring into the allegation of irregularities in excise policy during his tenure as secretary of the excise department.
The excise department’s joint commissioner, Gajendra Singh was also arrested and sent to jail in the same case. Choubey, a 1999-batch IAS officer, has held several key posts, including secretary to the CM. He is currently posted as Principal Secretary, Department of Panchayati Raj.
The Jharkhand government in a statement claimed that Mr. Choubey caused ₹38-crore loss to the state exchequer by “indulging in fraud, conniving with criminals and misusing his post”. It also said that he indulged in corrupt practices and did not follow norms in selecting placement agencies to operate liquor shops and their sales.
The ACB team arrested Choubey, the former managing director of the Jharkhand State Beverage Corporation Limited, after a thorough investigation and lodging an FIR. The ACB alleges that Choubey, in collusion with members of the Chhattisgarh liquor cartel, crafted a revised excise policy that led to significant financial losses for the Jharkhand government. The policy changes reportedly favored select private parties, helping them secure lucrative contracts related to liquor supply, staffing, and hologram systems in the state.