Jharkhand liquor scam: Principal secy, excise joint commissioner arrested

RANCHI: Jharkhand Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Tuesday arrested senior IAS officer Vinay Kumar Choubey and joint commissioner of excise department Gajendra Kumar Singh for their involvement in the alleged liquor scam in the state.

Choubey, a 1999 batch IAS officer who was secretary to Hemant Soren in his previous term as CM, is at present principal secretary of panchayati raj department. He had served as the state excise department secretary and managing director of the Jharkhand State Beverages Corporation Limited during the Soren govt, which brought in the state's new excise policy.

ACB has accused Choubey and Singh of deceiving the Jharkhand govt, leading to a loss of Rs 38 crore to the state exchequer. The officers misused their posts to select placement agencies under the liquor policy without following rules, ACB said.

The two officers were questioned for around five hours at the ACB office before their arrest. They were then produced before the special ACB court, which remanded them in judicial custody till June 3. The case against Choubey, Singh and others were lodged under relevant sections of the Prevention of Corruption Act.

In Oct 2024, ED had carried out raids on the premises of Choubey and Singh in connection with the liquor scam in Chhattisgarh.

Jharkhand BJP president Babulal Marandi said, "I had written to the chief minister in April 2022 and warned him about the liquor scams taking place in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. The govt not only ignored my letter and warnings but also helped carry out the scam worth thousands of crores in Jharkhand to benefit the liquor mafia of Chhattisgarh."

The former CM added, "The entire cabinet of Hemant govt enjoyed the Raipur tour in the past at the expense of the same liquor mafia. Now, when action is being taken in Chhattisgarh and the matter has reached ED and CBI, how can the investigation being conducted by ACB in Jharkhand be trusted? It appears that due to fear of the ongoing CBI investigation in Chhattisgarh, some small fries are made scapegoats to save the big fish. If Hemantji really wants to bring out the truth of the scam and has the courage, he should order a CBI investigation."