Raipur: The Delhi liquor policy scam has rocked the Arvind Kejriwal-helmed Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in the national Capital.
Now, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) claims to have busted a Rs 2,000-crore liquor scam in Chhattisgarh.
Anwar Dhebar, brother of Congress leader and Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar, has been arrested by the ED as he is a key accused in the case.
ED, which has said there’s a politician-bureaucrat nexus in the case, carried out searches at multiple locations in March-April and recorded statements of several persons involved in the alleged scam.
Anwar slipped out of a secret door when his house was searched. He also didn’t respond to seven ED summons. After sustained surveillance, sleuths finally zeroed in on Anwar in a hotel room of his associate.
The probe agency has claimed to have collected evidences of ‘unprecedented corruption and money laundering’ to the tune of Rs 2,000 crore between 2019 and 2022.
“PMLA investigation revealed that an organised criminal syndicate led by Anwar Dhebar was operating in Chhattisgarh. Anwar Dhebar, though a private citizen, was backed and worked for illegal gratification of high-level political executives and senior bureaucrats,” the ED said.
Anwar reportedly ran a wide network of persons and entities through whom money was illegally collected from every bottle of liquor sold in Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh.
A number of bureaucrats and politicians in Chhattisgarh are under the scanner of the ED.
In Chhattisgarh, the state government fully controls liquor trade, from procurement to retail sale and consumer sale. All 800 liquor shops are run by the state government.
