Businessman Vijay Bhatia, accused in Chhattisgarh’s much -talked -about and multi -rupee liquor scam, has suffered a major setback from the Chhattisgarh High Court. Bhatia had filed a writ petition in the High Court, terming his arrest as illegal, but the Division Bench headed by Chief Justice Ramesh Kumar Sinha dismissed the petition after hearing on 26 June. The court has justified arrests, which has led to a major legal victory to the investigating agencies ACB and EOW.
Allegations of arrest without summons, recognition not received from court
On behalf of Chhattisgarh Liquor Scam, Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora of the Supreme Court argued in the court that he was arrested without issuing summons, which is a violation of the legal process. In addition, he also argued that action was taken a year after the FIR, making the validity of arrest suspicious. But the court dismissed these arguments and said that the arrest has been done according to the entire process and in the appropriate time.
Chhattisgarh Liquor Scam: Complex investigation, questioned over 300 witnesses
Advocate Saurabh Pandey told the court on behalf of ACB that the case is very complex and more than 300 witnesses have been questioned. Also, banking transactions and documents were thoroughly examined, which took time. He said that Vijay Bhatia was handed over to ACB on May 31 after interrogation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), after which he was presented before the magistrate in Raipur on 1 June. The court described this entire process as valid and constitutional.
Plan to leave the country, arrest from Delhi
EOW investigation revealed that Vijay Bhatia, named Chhattisgarh Liquor Scam, was planning to leave the country with his family. He was arrested from Delhi on 31 May and brought to Raipur and produced in the court under a legal process. This confirmed the agencies that the arrest was done in time.
Investigation of financial transactions from Congress leaders
The test found that a large amount of money has been sent to the accounts of senior Congress leaders and his relatives from the accounts of Bhatia and his associate Anwar Bansal involved in Chhattisgarh Liquor Scam. Now ACB and Eow are investigating which political and influential faces reached the amount of liquor scam.
Illegal earnings and property investment of 15 crores
Initial investigation has also revealed that the Chhattisgarh Liquor Scam had earned a commission of about Rs 15 crore by supplying liquor to foreign companies, which he invested in immovable properties. Investigation agencies are now investigating this economic transaction in depth, which can make the scam even bigger.
