Jharkhand liquor scam: Former Excise Secy Chaubey, excise official arrested, sent to judicial custody (Second Lead)

Ranchi, May 20 (IANS) Jharkhand IAS officer and former Excise Secretary Vinay Kumar Chaubey and Joint Excise Commissioner Gajendra Singh were arrested by the state's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Tuesday evening in connection with the liquor scam.

The arrests followed long hours of questioning by the ACB.

Both officials were produced before a special ACB court in Ranchi, which sent them to judicial custody till June 3.

They were later taken to Birsa Munda Central Jail in Hotwar.

This is the first time in over 15 years that the ACB has taken such a big action against a senior serving IAS officer in Jharkhand.

Chaubey, currently serving as Principal Secretary in the Panchayati Raj Department, previously held key roles including Secretary of the Excise Department and Secretary to Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

ACB officials raided Chaubey’s residence early on Tuesday and brought him to their office around 11 a.m. for interrogation. Later in the day, Joint Excise Commissioner Singh was also summoned and interrogated.

The top officials were questioned over alleged irregularities in the 2022 excise policy, introduced on the lines of Chhattisgarh’s model, when Chaubey was Excise Secretary.

Investigations have linked Jharkhand’s liquor scam to a larger racket uncovered in Chhattisgarh, where the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) and later the Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched probes into the role of State Marketing Corporation officials and liquor businessmen.

According to the ED, the syndicate that executed the scam in Chhattisgarh had replicated the model in Jharkhand. On this basis, the ED summoned Chaubey, who denied wrongdoing, claiming the policy was approved by the government.

It is alleged that changes were made in Jharkhand’s excise policy to benefit this syndicate, which went on to secure key contracts, including for liquor supply and the hologram system -- causing significant financial loss to the state exchequer.

A complaint was later lodged in Chhattisgarh’s EOW, alleging the same liquor syndicate orchestrated a well-planned scam in Jharkhand, manipulating the excise policy to favour suppliers from Chhattisgarh.

Following this, the ED registered an ECIR and conducted raids, including at Chaubey’s premises, in October 2024.

The Jharkhand ACB began a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) after receiving state government approval.

Based on findings from the PE, an FIR was registered, and Chaubey and Singh were interrogated.

After a medical examination around 3.30 p.m., both were placed under arrest, produced before the court, which sent the duo to 14-day judicial custody.

--IANS

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