RAIPUR: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has written to the Chhattisgarh Chief Secretary seeking his cooperation to instruct the two senior officers, who didn't turn up despite repeated summons issued, to attend the questioning in connection with the liquor scam probe.
In a letter to the chief secretary, the ED assistant director stated that the agency is investigating the liquor scam under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against 2003-batch IAS officer Anil Tuteja, a joint secretary in the Department of Commerce and Industries and Arunpati Tripathi who is a managing director in Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL), a senior officer revealed.
The ED’s letter brings light to the liquor scam that too remains under the scanner, besides "fraud in coal". Both Tuteja and Tripathi didn't appear before the Raipur zonal office of ED on the designated dates in spite of summons repeatedly sent on different occasions this month, cited the letter.
The ED assistant director requested the chief secretary as head of the state machinery to get the summons served to both the officers and instruct them to attend for questioning in the liquor scam. Tripathi, meanwhile, has proceeded on a leave and the state government has on last Monday posted another officer as the MD of CSMCL.
On March 29, the ED carried out extensive raids in over two dozen locations in Chhattisgarh including the premises linked to Tuteja and Tripathi besides the liquor barons and hoteliers. The fresh raids then were reportedly carried out following the new findings and their name emerged during the ongoing investigation by the ED.
Last year in October, the ED had claimed to have traced a cartel, involving senior bureaucrats, businessmen, and politicians that had entered into an alleged criminal conspiracy pertaining to a massive scam, of over Rs 500 crore, in which an illegal levy of Rs 25 per ton of coal extorted and transported in Chhattisgarh.
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel had recently hit out at the central probe agencies over the complaints of violence and ill-treatment allegedly meted out to the people during their action in Chhattisgarh.
The opposition BJP rebuffed the allegations saying that the ED has initiated actions against the corrupt officials, leaders and businessmen.