Raipur: A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on Tuesday, January 21 sent Chhattisgarh Congress MLA and former minister Kawasi Lakhma to 14-day judicial custody in connection with an alleged multi crore liquor scam.
Lakhma was produced before the special PMLA court following completion of his previous remand. He was paraded before a bench of Justice Atul Kumar Shrivastava who remanded him in Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody till February 4.
Interacting with the media while being taken to the remand, Lakhma once again pleaded his innocence, quoting that the voice of a comman man from Bastar is being silenced.
ED arrested the sitting MLA from Bastar and former Chhattisgarh excise minister, Kawasi Lakhma in connection with Rs 2100 crore liquor scam on January 15 after the latter appeared before the agency’s zonal office at Raipur. He was subsequently produced before a special court from where he was sent to six-day ED custody.
The agency on January 15 claimed that the arrested MLA Lakhma was receiving Rs 2 crore on a monthly basis out of the proceeds of crime generated under Rs 2100 alleged liquor scam.
“Lakhma was paid Rs 2 crore on a monthly basis, which includes two separate payments of Rs 50 lakhs and Rs 1.5 crore. The information about the money being delivered to Lakhma was revealed to the agency by a jailed official of the excise department Arun Pati Tripathi and another accused in the case Arvind Singh, informed ED’s counsel Saurabh Pandey.
“Two people Arun Pati Tripathi and Arvind Singh had given statements against him (Lakhma). Singh had disclosed that the liquor cartel used to pay Rs 50 lakhs monthly to Lakhma while Tripathi had informed about an additional payment of Rs 1.5 crore (monthly) to the former minister, he added.
He further claimed that the scam ran for around three years and the total projection proceeds of crime stands over Rs 70 crore.
“We have also recovered several digital evidences which led to the discovery that a large proportion of the said money was basically used in construction of a private premise and for the construction of Congress party office in Sukma district,” he added.
Other people involved in the liquor scam have also come under the radar of the agency after Lakhma’s arrest and arrests will be made on the basis of findings, he concluded.
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.
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.
In the search operation conducted on December 28, ED raids the residential premises of Kawasi Lakhma. 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.
Notably, Retired IAS officer Anil Tuteja, former excise department official Arun Pati Tripathi, former Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar’s brother Anwar Dhebar, , liquor businessman Trilok Singh Dhillon and Arvind Singh are already in jail in connection with the alleged scam.
