₹2,000 Cr Liquor Scam Unearthed By ED in Chhattisgarh; Smells Politician-Bureaucrat Nexus

New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) announced that it had unearthed a Rs 2,000 crore liquor scam that was reportedly being run with the assistance of powerful politicians and bureaucrats in the Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh.

Anwar Dhebar, a key accused in the case, was arrested by the ED and sent to a 4-day ED custody. Anwar Dhebar is the brother of congress leader and the mayor of Raipur Aijaz Dhebar.

The investigating agency had earlier recorded the testimony of numerous people allegedly involved in the scam and conducted searches at several places in March. According to the CIA, between 2019 and 2022, “unprecedented corruption and money laundering to the tune of Rs 2,000 crores” were documented.

“PMLA investigation revealed that an organised crime syndicate led by Anwar Dhebar was operating in Chhattisgarh. Anwar Dhebar, though a private citizen, was backed and worked for illegal gratification of the high-level political executives and senior bureaucrats,” the ED said.

Officials claim that Anwar concocted a complex scheme and assembled a vast network of individuals and organisations to carry out the fraud so that money was illegally taken from each bottle of alcohol sold in Chhattisgarh.

Several politicians and bureaucrats in Chhattisgarh, according to sources, are being investigated by the ED.