In the purported liquor scam case in Chhattisgarh, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a final prosecution charge that names 59 individuals, bringing the total number of defendants in the money laundering case to 81.
The ED's attorney, Saurabh Kumar Pande, told PTI that the final prosecution complaint was submitted to the PMLA court here on Friday in accordance with the Supreme Court's orders.
Twenty-two people were listed as accused in the case earlier, and a number of them were taken into custody. Prosecution complaints were previously filed against those implicated once the investigation was finished, he said.
According to Pande, the final prosecution complaint has now been filed against 59 additional individuals for whom an investigation has been finished.
He stated that Soumya Chaurasia, the Chief Minister's office assistant secretary at the time, Niranjan Das, a former IAS officer, distributors, liquor license holders, and excise department officials are among the 59.
With papers totaling almost 29,800 pages, the prosecution's complaint synopsis is 315 pages long. According to him, the material consists of digital evidence including communication logs, documents demonstrating attempts at money laundering, backdoor and purpose-driven entries, and direct proof gathered through financial channels.
According to Pande, Niranjan Das, the state excise department's commissioner at the time, allegedly let the booze fraud run smoothly and made sure no punitive action was taken anywhere, allowing it to go unchecked. According to him, the case's overall proceeds of crime are believed to be approximately Rs 3,000 crore.
The investigation agency claims that the state's liquor "scam" was planned between 2019 and 2022, while Chhattisgarh's Congress government, led by Bhupesh Baghel, was in power.
The state exchequer suffered a "massive loss" as a result of the alleged swindle, which also enriched the beneficiaries of a booze syndicate.
In relation to the alleged liquor scam, the ED detained Congress MLA and former excise minister Kawasi Lakhma in January of this year and Chaitanya Baghel, the son of former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, in July.
According to the investigating agency, Lakhma was the primary beneficiary of the proceeds of crime, while Chaitanya Baghel was instrumental in managing the syndicate's roughly Rs 1,000 crore.
Indian Telecom Service (ITS) officer Arunpati Tripathi, former IAS officer Anil Tuteja, businessman Anwar Dhebar (brother of Congressman and former Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar), and a few others were previously detained in connection with the case.
Investigating the corruption aspect of the alleged fraud, the state's Economic Offence Wing/Anti-Corruption Bureau has also filed a formal complaint.
In the multi-crore liquor fraud involving Chaitanya Baghel, the EOW/ACB submitted their seventh supplemental chargesheet on December 22.
According to the report, there is proof that Chaitanya Baghel handled the proceeds of crime at a higher level and was paid between Rs 200 and Rs 250 crore.
According to the EOW/ACB, the current investigation into the scandal indicates that the proceeds of crime from the suspected scheme may surpass Rs 3,500 crore.
