Former Excise Minister and incumbent Congress MLA Kawasi Lakhma
Raipur: Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday, January 15 arrested senior Congress leader and former Chhattisgarh excise minister, Kawasi Lakhma in connection with Rs 2100 crore liquor scam.
Lakhma, a sitting MLA of the Congress party was taken into custody after he appeared before the agency’s zonal office at Raipur for the third time on Wednesday.
Lakhma was subsequently produced before a special court from where he was sent to custody for seven days. Lakhma’s son Harish was also reportedly taken into custody.
Following his arrest, the Congress MLA however pleaded innocence, claiming that he was framed in the case and not a single penny was recovered from his house during the ED’s raids.
Earlier the sleuths of the agency questioned Lakhma for around 6 hours before taking him into custody. He was also grilled by the officials for around 8 hours when he last appeared before the agency on December 31 last year.
Lakhma’s arrest by the ED has prompted critical reactions from the leaders of the Congress party who have termed the development an act inspired by vendetta politics.
Refuting the allegations of the Congress leaders, Deputy CM Vijay Sharma however said that “the case was registered by the ED and they have now arrested him in the case. The matter has clarity, raids were also conducted during which evidences were found and now the ED has made the arrest.”
Meanwhile Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai too reacted on the arrest saying that “ED is investigating the matter and action will be taken against whoever found guilty.”
Notably, ED on December 30, 2024 claimed that Kawasi Lakhma used to “receive” a substantial amount in cash on a monthly basis out of proceeds of crime generated from the alleged liquor scam estimated to be around Rs 2,161 crore.
As per the agency, Kawasi Lakhma was the main recipient of proceeds of crime in cash during his regime as excise minister in the previous Congress government of the state.
ED investigation into the liquor scam, which ran between 2019 and 2022, revealed that proceeds of crime were generated as illegal commissions, which were generated in multiple ways.
The agency said that bribes were collected from the distillers per ‘case’ of liquor procured from them by the Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited (CSMCL), a state body for the purchase and sale of liquor.
Sale of unaccounted “kacha off-the-books” country liquor was another way to generate illegal money, claimed the agency, adding “In this case, not even a single rupee reached the State Exchequer, and all the sale proceeds were pocketed by the syndicate. The illegal liquor was sold from state-run shops only”.
“Bribes are taken from distillers to allow them to make a cartel and have fixed market share, and holders who were introduced to earn in foreign liquor segment also,” said the ED.
ED made the revelations two days after its Raipur unit conducted search operations at seven premises situated in Raipur, Dhamtari and Sukma districts of Chhattisgarh under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, in the liquor scam case.
In the search operation conducted on December 28, ED raids the residential premises of Kawasi Lakhma, a six-time Congress MLA. The searches were also conducted at the residential premises of his son, Harish Lakhma, and their close associates.
As a result of the search operation, ED said it was able to gather evidence pertaining to Kawasi Lakhma’s utilisation of proceeds of crime in cash during the relevant period of the scam.
Further, the search also led to the recovery and seizure of multiple digital devices believed to be containing incriminating records.
Earlier, an ED investigation revealed that the liquor syndicate, comprising Anwar Dhebar, Anil Tuteja, and others, was operating in Chhattisgarh.
In this case, one attachment order attaching properties worth Rs 205 crore has already been issued. So far, five persons have been arrested in this case, and a Prosecution Complaint along with two supplementary chargesheets was filed, wherein cognizance has already been taken by the special PMLA court in Raipur.
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