By Neeraj Mishra

There is more than meets the eye in the failure of searches and seizures in the Rs 2,000 crore liquor scam (Delhi in comparison is a mere Rs 100 crore) and alleged mining scam in Chhattisgarh. The Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax department have been operating relentlessly in the state for the past two years with the prime target being Bhupesh Baghel, euphemistically mentioned as “highest political authority” in its chargesheets. But till date, not only have the two government agencies miserably failed despite attaching properties worth over Rs 1,200 crore, but are now actually scraping the bottom of the barrel arresting and invading minor rice millers.

The major accused have all got bail or prevention from arrest orders from the Supreme Court unlike Delhi ministers. Anwar Dhebar, an alleged kingpin in the excise and mining game and alleged money bag of Baghel, first obtained bail from the High Court and then got it confirmed from the Supreme Court. Anil Tuteja, now a retired IAS officer, could never be arrested despite several raids and he finally obtained a prevention from arrest orders, somehow akin to anticipatory bail. The ED raids had begun with much fanfare early in 2022, with the mining department as the main target. Mining Director Bishnoi, IAS, was arrested and is still behind bars. Then several small fry in the mining department were raided and arrested, but nothing led to Baghel. Finally Ranu Sahu, IAS, was also arrested and is still in jail.

Meanwhile, businessman Surya Tiwari and Baghel’s OSD Saumya Chaurasia were also picked up with allegations that they were close to Baghel and had some unexplained cash and properties. Later, several liquor barons and dealers were raided and arrested, but nothing came of it. This whole drama kept playing out over months with much fanfare. The local BJP kept praying that ED and IT will manage something that they have not been able to dislodge Baghel from his chair.

After almost a year it turned out in Tuteja’s case in the Supreme Court that the ED did not even have the basic legal rights to proceed in the excise case. For the ED to jump into any case with its PMLA, there has to be a predicate offence or a case registered in a thana or a court under relevant sections of the IPC. It had been proceeding on the basis of information provided by the IT department about some WhatsApp conversations between the accused. The Supreme Court dismissed the case though some accused continue to be in custody due to other charges. After the Supreme Court’s judgment, the ED rapidly registered a case of fraudulent 3D stickers provided to the Excise department by a Noida manufacturer in which it named amongst others, Tuteja, excise commissioner and some bottlers. The proceeds of fake liquor bottles sold as excise paid liquor was frowned upon by the Supreme Court as an afterthought. Though the Supreme Court itself is still lingering over the case as it has been for the past two years under three different chief justices.

What is most mysterious, however, is the ease with which Baghel and company have got away so far in the current atmosphere of raids and counter allegations. There are two logical conclusions that come to mind. First, all accused have stood by Baghel and have refused to name him as a collaborator or recipient of benefits under either the excise or mining scams. It shows how he has built loyalty over his tenure. He has also steadfastly refused to order enquiries against all the officers arrested by the ED though they have been suspended under the DOPT rules. The second theory is that Baghel has some backers with the BJP system and despite Amit Shah’s obvious dislike for him, he has continued to thrive.

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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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Vijay Nair, the communication strategist of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the close aide of Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) today just ahead of his bail hearing in connection against his CBI custody.

He was arrested in connection with the ongoing money laundering probe into the now-scrapped Delhi Liquor Policy. Vijay was arrested along with businessman Abhishek Boinpally for allegedly lobbying for certain liquor businessmen based in southern India.

The two are currently behind bars in the same case. Vijay and Abhishek had sought bail, claiming that they were not required for further interrogation in CBI custody.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said the ED will seek a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court to grant custody of the two.

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According to the CBI, Nair, a former CEO of an event management company, was associated with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and had formed a criminal conspiracy with others. Based on the conspiracy, the excise policy of the Delhi government for the years 2021–2022 was framed and implemented.

Earlier, the ED arrested Sameer Mahandru, the owner of the liquor company Indospirit, Benoy Babu, and P Sarath Chandra Reddy, the promoter and full-time director of Aurobindo Pharma.

As many as 169 search operations have already been conducted by the government in this case.

Manish Sisodia, Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister, is among those accused in the case of money laundering. The CBI raided the offices of Sisodia and a few other Delhi government officials after the complaint was filed.

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Monday arrested business Abhishek Boinpally in a Delhi liquor scam case in which Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia is also an accused. This is the second big arrest after businessman Vijay Nair, a close aide of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

Abhishek Boinpally, registered with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs as a Director of Indian Companies, will be produced before the court. The CBI took Boinpally into custody last night in an ongoing investigation of a case related to alleged irregularities in the framing and implementation of the excise policy.

The officials said Boinpally was allegedly lobbying for confidence among liquor businessmen based in Southern India and was called for questioning on Sunday. They further said he was allegedly involved in the cartelization of the Southern lobby.

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After Delhi Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena urged a CBI investigation into the Delhi Excise Policy 2021–2022, Nair, Sisodia, and 13 other people were named in the FIR that was filed.

The policy came under scrutiny after VK Saxena, the lieutenant governor of Delhi, suggested a CBI investigation into the suspected flaws in executing the Delhi Excise Policy 2021–2022.

According to officials, the Delhi Chief Secretary’s report, which was submitted in July, found that there had been evident violations of the Delhi Excise Act of 2009 and the Delhi Excise Rules of 2010, as well as the Transaction of Business Rules (ToBR) of 1993 and the Government of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (GNCTD) Act of 1991.

The lawsuit involves alleged corruption in the National Capital’s liquor license application process.

Boinpally is currently a director for 9 Indian companies. His affiliations with businesses span a wide range of sectors, including real estate, other forms of mining and quarrying, construction, manufacturing (chemicals and chemical products), other service activities, computer-related services, etc.

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) searched Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia’s locker in Ghaziabad on Tuesday in connection with the liquor scam in the capital. The CBI conducted an investigation linked to the alleged irregularities in Delhi’s now-withdrawn liquor policy. This comes after Sisodia’s residence was raided nearly two weeks ago.

In a media interaction after the raid, Manish Sisodia said his family got a clean chit in the raids in connection with the liquor policy case and that the CBI officials found nothing at his home or in his bank locker.

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Taking a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Sisodia said the locker has jewellery worth about Rs 70,000 belonging to his children and wife. He further said that he is happy that the Prime Minister got his home and locker raided but nothing was found and they have got a clean chit.

Sisodia stated that the CBI agents acted honourably throughout the raids even though they are aware that nothing will be found. He alleged that the PM is pressuring them to come up with a way to lock him up for a few months.

Yesterday, Sisodia in a tweet said nothing will be found in his locker. Tomorrow, CBI will raid our bank locker. Nothing was found in the 14-hour raid at my house on August 19. Nothing will be found in the locker either. Welcome to CBI. My family and I will fully cooperate in the investigation, he tweeted.

In the FIR filed by the CBI in the liquor policy case, Sisodia, who also oversees the excise portfolio for the Delhi government, is one of the 15 accused.

The CBI has argued that the new policy was implemented without Anil Baijal, the then-Lt. Governor of Delhi. Additionally, it claims that the Delhi government gave licenses to numerous unqualified merchants in return for bribery. The policy, which had been put into place in November of last year, was revoked eight months later due to charges of corruption.

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