NEW DELHI: The SC on Thursday issued a notice to the ED on a plea challenging the Enforcement Case Information Report filed in the Liquor Scam in CG. The vacation bench of Justices JK Maheshwari and PS Narasimha issued a notice on the plea filed by Pinki Singh- a private individual involved in the bottling business.
Represented by Senior advocate Siddharth Dave, Pinki in her plea said she is only seeking protection of no coercive steps against Singh by the probe agency. The plea also challenged certain provisions under the PMLA.
Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the ED, countered the allegations and said the agency was probing a scam in the state and no one was being threatened.
The Chhattisgarh Govt retaliated the statement informing the bench that state officials were being threatened continuously.
The matter will be next heard on May 29th.
The SC earlier hearing another set of petitions arising out of the same scam, had observed that, “If there is a scam, you catch the right people. Don’t create an atmosphere of fear. It’s not that everybody is an accused.”
The ED in its probe accused Arun Pati Tripathi- senior ITS Officer and MD of CSMCL of breaching the ethos of functioning of any State Excise Department and used the State-run shops to sell unaccounted kacha liquor.
On insistence by Anwer Dhebar his complicit actions resulted in massive losses to the State Exchequer and filled the pockets of the beneficiaries of the Liquor Syndicate with more than Rs 2000 Crore in illegal proceeds of crime, added the agency revealing he also received a substantial share in this loot.
ED has conducted consequential search operations at locations in Raipur, Bhilai and Mumbai and the searches have resulted in the discovery of 53 acres of land in Naya Raipur having a book value of Rs 21.60 crore acquired by Anwar Dhebar by using proceeds of crime in the name of a JV. It is probing the liquor scam that took place between 2019 and 2022.