The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday arrested the special secretary of the Chhattisgarh Excise Department in a money laundering case. The probe agency arrested Arunpati Tripathi on Friday from New Delhi.

The ED has sent Arunpati Tripathi to three-day custody in a case linked to the alleged Rs 2,000 crore liquor syndicate scam in Chhattisgarh. Tripathi is the first government official to be arrested in the case.

Tripathi, an Indian Telecom Service officer, is posted in Raipur on deputation as special secretary of the excise department. He is also the Managing Director of the Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (which controls retail sales of all kinds of alcoholic beverages in the state).

The investigation agency brought him before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court, which remanded him in the custody of the ED for three days.

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The probe agency’s lawyer said the scheme entailed selectively granting permits to liquor manufacturers in exchange for a commission, distributing the acquired funds, and collecting commission from liquor shops.

The agency told the court that there was enough evidence against Tripathi on all three counts, the first part deals with giving a selective license to liquor manufacturers and collecting commission while the other parts are about commission collection and distribution as well as about how to collect commission from liquor shops.

The probe agency has also seized his laptop and mobile phone and will also analyze the seized gadgets for further investigation.

Tripathi will be produced again in the court along with co-accused Anwar Dhebar, Nitesh Purohit and Trilok Singh Dhillon alias Pappu (who were arrested earlier) on May 15.

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