ED arrests special secretary in Chhattisgarh liquor 'scam'

NEW DELHI: The ED on Monday said it arrested Arun Tripathi, special secretary in the excise department of Chhattisgarh, who was also MD of Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Ltd (CSMCL), on Friday as he was allegedly assisting main accused Anwar Dhebar, the brother of Raipur mayor and Congress neta Aijaz Dhebar. Tripathi, as head of CSMCL, oversaw sale of liquor through 800 government shops.

Probing the alleged Rs 2,000 crore Chhattisgarh liquor scam, the Enforcement Directorate claimed that Anwar Dhebar, the main accused in the case and brother of Raipur mayor, had acquired 53 acres in Naya Raipur, having a book value of Rs 22 crore, by using the proceeds of crime. The ED claimed that Arun Tripathi, special secretary in the excise department of Chhattisgarh, was part of the liquor syndicate and had changed excise policies "at the insistence" of Dhebar who had "corrupted" the entire liquor system of Chhattisgarh. The Dhebar brothers are known to be close to senior ministers in the state.

The agency further claimed that the CSMCL, headed by Tripathi, helped the accused in generating proceeds of crime by way of "bribes collected from distillers per case of liquor procured from them by the CSMCL" for sale from government shops.


Tripathi has also been accused of assisting Dhebar to sell unaccounted, off-the-books country liquor from these shops and collection of unaccounted cash. "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," the agency said. Tripathi is an officer of the Indian Telecom Service and has been with the state government for the last seven years. "Despite being a senior ITS officer and MD of CSMCL, he went against the ethos of the functioning of the excise department and used state-run shops to sell unaccounted 'kacha' liquor," the ED said.

The agency reiterated that the liquor scam resulted in a loss of over Rs 2,000 crore to the state exchequer. Tripathi, the agency said, received a substantial share in this loot.