Raipur: Troubles of former Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar are increasing as Chhattisgarh ranks among India’s top ‘high profile’ ₹2,000 crore liquor scam. Dhebar and his family members have been issued notices by the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the case. Details of the investigation also showed that Dhebar was likely to appear in court today.
In January 2024, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) filed an FIR with the EOW-ACB (Anti-Corruption Bureau) of the state. The ED had alleged in its complaint that a huge corruption syndicate run by then IAS officer Anil Tuteja, former Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation MD AP Tripathi and businessman Anwar Dhebar during the tenure of the Bhupesh Baghel-led government siphoned away more than ₹2,000 crore from illegal sources.
The EOW-ACB had probed into the use of duplicate holograms being used in liquor sales. Unearthed from the land owned by Anwar Dhebar, large quantities of these counterfeit holograms were apparently found. Now, with fresh developments, the authorities are concentrating on questioning Aijaz Dhebar and his relatives, near and dear ones, to collect more evidence in the ongoing investigation.
The ED recently resorted to raiding former Excise Minister Kawasi Lakhma’s properties. In the second incident, Lakhma was arrested and taken to Court although it was remanded for further investigation. ED reports said that Lakshman got a monthly commission of ₹2 crores through the scam. He is currently in the hands of the Judiciary.
Investigations are ongoing, and EOW & ED will take further action against those corrupt people, which signals a major crackdown on corruption in the liquor trade of Chhattisgarh.
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