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ED trying to implicate me in alleged liquor scam: Chhattisgarh CM Baghel
The CM asked why the ED was not taking any action against distillers if they had accepted that they were selling liquor without paying the excise duty
Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday accused the Enforcement Directorate (ED) of trying to implicate him in the alleged liquor scam in the state.
He claimed that the ED has been acting as an agent of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
“Our claim that the ED has been acting as an agent of the BJP has been proved right. The way it has been threatening people to implicate them in false cases, they are now trying to implicate me in the alleged excise scam. Their main aim is to defame the Congress government,” he said.
The CM asked why the ED was not taking any action against distillers if they had accepted that they were selling liquor without paying the excise duty.
Also Read: Explained: How liquor scam of over ₹2,000 cr in Chhattisgarh was unearthed by ED
“The ED has continuously released press statements stating that distillers were selling liquor without paying the excise duty in the state. Now the question arises that if they were doing so, then will they become offenders or witnesses? Why action was not taken against distillers as they (illegally) got the benefit and have accepted it,” Baghel said.
He further alleged that the act reflects there is a nexus between the ED and distillers or between the BJP and distillers.
The CM further said his government has been discussing the issue with legal experts as “scheduled” offences like extortion and corruption in the state do not come under the ED’s jurisdiction.
The ED on Saturday claimed that a liquor scam of more than ₹2,000 crore in Chhattisgarh in the last four years in which a syndicate comprising high-level state government officials, private persons and political executives of the state government.
The ED in its remand application for Anwar Dhebar, who was arrested and produced on Saturday, also claimed that IAS officer Anil Tuteja who is joint secretary in the department of industry and commerce, was the kingpin of this illegal syndicate along with Anwar Dhebar.
Anwar is elder brother of Raipur mayor Aijaz Dhebar.
The ED in the remand application stated the sale of unaccounted illicit liquor was almost 30-40% of the total sale of the liquor in the state
