RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh state Bureau for Investigation of Economic Offences (EOW) on Monday filed a 1200-page supplementary charge-sheet in the special court against the arrested Congress MLA Kawasi Lakhma, in connection with the alleged liquor scam in Chhattisgarh.
A six-time Congress legislator Lakhma, who was excise minister in the earlier Congress regime led by Bhupesh Baghel, was arrested on January 15 this year and has been in jail as among the prime accused.
Lakhma appeared virtually before the trial court proceeding via video conferencing. He appealed the court to allow him to appear physically instead of virtually before it, saying that ‘he was neither a terrorist nor a Pakistani’.
In the fourth charge-sheet produced before the special court (Prevention of Corruption Act), around seventy have been named as accused including Lakhma who was found to have ‘grossly disregarded his position’ as the minister. "The probe, examination of evidence gathered including financial analysis indicated an alleged gross misuse of his then constitutional post in manipulating the tender process and interfering in the decisions. And Lakhma got a share of Rs 64 crore from the liquor scam", according to officials.
Over a dozen have been arrested so far in connection with the liquor scam case.
The ED investigating the “fraud” in liquor claimed a prevailing criminal syndicate has operated illegal bribe collections by controlling the high-level management of key state departments and state public sector units in Chhattisgarh.
The Central probe agency estimated that Proceeds of Crime of around Rs 2,161 crore have been generated by the suspects in the "liquor scam".
As a commodity, the liquor though often led the Chhattisgarh to secure high revenue collections but it eventually also became an issue of acrimonious tussle in the state’s political battleground between the Congress and the BJP.