Raipur
Former Excise Minister Kawasi Lakhma was presented in the court today by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) after seven days’ remand in the liquor scam case. After the hearing, the court has sent him to judicial custody for 14 days. Under this, Kawasi Lakhma will remain in jail till February 4. According to sources, Congress government leader, former Excise Minister and Konta MLA Kawasi Lakhma has been sent to jail in the liquor scam of Rs 2,161 crore in the state. Kawasi Lakhma was arrested by ED. After the seven-day remand was over, he was produced in the court on Tuesday. The court has sent the former minister to jail on judicial remand for 14 days. It is alleged that Kawasi has received Rs 72 crore. Every month a commission amount of Rs 2 crore was received.
Kawasi said I don’t have a penny
While leaving the court, Lakhma said on the verdict…the government is silencing the voice of the tribals. The double engine government is putting the tribals in jail for raising their voice. Whatever is happening is wrong. The talk of getting crores of rupees is false. Not even a single rupee or a penny has been found in my house. I have won elections 6-6 times. I raised questions in the assembly. My fight will continue till my last breath….
Dhand liquor scam kingpin
The name of retired former Chief Secretary Vivek Dhand has also surfaced. ED has claimed in the remand note presented in the court that retired IAS Dhand has also received the amount of this scam. ED has drawn the outline of the entire scam in its documents and has described Dhand as the mastermind of the entire scam, under whose direction key players of the scam and jailed retired IAS Anil Tuteja, businessman Anwar Dhebar and AP Tripathi were working.
money delivery screws
ED has taken Kawasi Lakhma on remand and interrogated him till late night. After the raid and thorough investigation of bank details, a money trail was also detected. ED has investigated the financial transactions of Lakhma. Now other people related to this will also be summoned for questioning. ED will also call Kanhaiyalal Kurre, Jagannath alias Jaggu, Jayant Dewangan and interrogate them one to one. Also, the former minister’s CA, Sushil Ojha and contractor Rambhuvan Bhadauria will be called for questioning.
Earning 115 crores in four years
In four years, more than Rs 115 crore have been earned by the officers posted in 15 districts. According to the information, the liquor which was earlier supplied for Rs 560 was sold at MRP of Rs 2,880. At the same time, in collusion with the syndicate, its price was increased to Rs 3,840. In which payment was made to the liquor suppliers at the rate of Rs 560-600 per box, while Rs 150 per box was given to the 20 officers posted in all the 15 operational districts.
commission game
At the same time, Anwar Dhebar kept the remaining share with himself and 15 percent commission was given to Anil Tuteja and AP Tripathi. This whole game started in 2019-20 and will continue till 2022-23. Khama was taken on remand by the ED to investigate his involvement. The ED had collected evidence against him while investigating various allegations against him. During his appearance in the court today, ED demanded judicial custody from the court on the basis of its investigation, which was accepted by the court.
likely to have a larger network
This action is being taken against the former minister after the revelation of a big network of liquor scam. Considering the seriousness of the case, ED is continuing further investigation. This entire incident has created a stir in the politics of the state, and its impact is likely to increase further in the coming days.
