Chhattisgarh liquor 'scam': Enforcement Directorate makes two fresh arrests

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has made two fresh arrests of a hotel trader and liquor businessman in the Rs 2,000 crore alleged liquor syndicate scam linked money laundering case of Chhattisgarh, official sources said Thursday.

Nitesh Purohit, promoter of Giriraj hotel located in state capital Raipur, was arrested on Wednesday noon while Pappu Dhillon was arrested on Thursday, they said. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday accused the ED of trying to implicate him in the alleged liquor scam in the state.

The ED has been acting as an agent of the Bharatiya Janata Party, he claimed while talking to reporters at the Police Lines helipad in Raipur. Anwar Dhebar, the elder brother of Raipur Mayor and Congress leader Aijaz Dhebar, was the first person to be arrested by the agency in this case last week.

The agency told the court on Wednesday that Purohit was allegedly "aware of the illegal operations of Anwar Dhebar and willingly assisted him in movement of proceeds of crime to Anil Tuteja (an IAS officer of Chhattisgarh cadre)" and another person.

Also read: ED summons NCP leader Jayant Patil in IL&FS money laundering case

Dhebar was also produced by the agency before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Raipur on Wednesday at the end of his four-day remand period, and the court later extended his custody by five more days, the sources said.

His lawyer Rahul Tyagi said Wednesday that the Additional District and Sessions Judge Ajay Singh Rajput has extended the remand of his client by five days. The court has directed the investigating agency that the accused should not be harassed in any way. The court has also directed the agency to preserve audio and video recording of the interrogation to ascertain if any kind of torture or harassment was given to the accused, he said.

The court has allowed the counsel to meet his client on a daily basis, Tyagi added.

Money was "illegally" collected from "every" bottle of liquor sold in Chhattisgarh and evidence of "unprecedented" corruption and money laundering of Rs 2,000 crore generated by an alcohol syndicate led by Anwar Dhebar, the ED had alleged.

This money laundering case stems from a 2022 Income-tax department charge sheet filed against IAS officer Tuteja and others before a court in Delhi.

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