Chhattisgarh ACB/EOW Arrests Retired IAS Officer Niranjan Das In Liquor Scam

The Chhattisgarh Anti-Corruption Bureau and Economic Offences Wing (ACB/EOW) on Thursday arrested retired IAS officer Niranjan Das in connection with the multi-crore liquor scam allegedly operated during the previous Congress-led government, PTI reported. 

Das, who served as the commissioner of the state excise department at the time, is accused of playing a key role in facilitating the operations of a syndicate that controlled the illegal sale of liquor across the state, officials said.

He is expected to be produced before a local court on Friday.

According to the investigating agency, Das allegedly received financial benefits amounting to several crores in exchange for enabling unaccounted liquor sales through state-run outlets, manipulating tenders, influencing transfers of officials, and backing a flawed excise policy that favored the syndicate.

Officials confirmed that Das, a Chhattisgarh cadre officer who was later inducted into the IAS, is the second retired bureaucrat to be arrested in the ongoing probe.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is investigating the money laundering angle, has estimated that the scam was worth over Rs 2,500 crore and ran between 2019 and 2022 under the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government.

The ACB/EOW had filed an FIR on January 17 last year, naming 70 individuals and entities, including former excise minister Kawasi Lakhma and ex-chief secretary Vivek Dhand.

The crackdown gained momentum after the BJP came to power in the 2023 state assembly elections.

So far, the EOW has filed one main chargesheet and four supplementary chargesheets, with over a dozen arrests made in the case.

The ED has alleged that a well-organized network was collecting illegal commissions from liquor sales and conducting unauthorized distribution through state-run shops. Among those arrested are Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who was taken into custody in July, and Congress MLA and former minister Kawasi Lakhma, arrested in January.

The investigation has also led to the arrest of several high-profile individuals, including businessman Anwar Dhebar, former IAS officer Anil Tuteja, and Indian Telecom Service officer Arunpati Tripathi.

With PTI inputs