India News | Chhattisgarh Liquor Scam: Businessman Vijay Bhatia Arrested

Raipur, Jun 1 (PTI) The Anti-Corruption Bureau/Economic Offence Wing (ACB/EOW) of Chhattisgarh Police arrested businessman Vijay Bhatia in New Delhi in connection with an alleged liquor scam.

He was presented in the court of the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) in Raipur on Sunday, which remanded him to one-day custody of the ACB/EOW.

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The prime accused in the scam, Bhatia allegedly provided illegal benefits by collecting a large-scale commission from foreign liquor manufacturing companies and suppliers in Chhattisgarh, causing huge revenue loss to the government, as per an ACB/EOW statement.

Bhatia was booked under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and sections 7 and 12 of the Prevention of Corruption Act, it added.

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He will be again produced before the special ACB/EOW court on Monday for custodial remand, said the ACB/EOW lawyer.

Separately, the ACB/EOW conducted searches at eight places in Durg and Bhilai linked to Bhatia, his companies, and his aides, the statement said.

During the search, important documents, investment-related papers and electronic gadgets (digital devices) were seized from the premises of the accused, his related companies, and associates, it added.

Analysis of the documents and further legal action was underway, it said.

As per the Enforcement Directorate, the liquor scam in Chhattisgarh was orchestrated between 2019 and 2022 when the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government was in power.

"The Chhattisgarh liquor scam resulted in massive loss to the state exchequer and filled the pockets of the beneficiaries of the liquor syndicate with more than Rs 2,100 crore illegal proceeds of crime," the agency had claimed earlier.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)