THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Ranchi, June 17: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) took major action on Tuesday in connection with the Jharkhand liquor scam case. The ACB team arrested former Excise Commissioner Amit Prakash.
After his arrest, Amit Prakash is being questioned at the ACB headquarters. So far, the ACB has arrested six people in this case, including Vinay Choubey.
Earlier, during the investigation, the vigilance department had summoned the retired Excise Commissioner for questioning. Amit Prakash had retired from the post in December 2024. According to sources, he is accused of releasing about ₹12 crore to a liquor wholesaler named Om Sai.
Under the liquor policy implemented in the state, companies named Om Sai and Dishita Venture were given the contract for wholesale liquor trade. Om Sai was already under investigation for irregularities in liquor supply.
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Due to these allegations, the government had stopped the payment of the company’s dues. However, despite the ban, Amit Prakash approved the release of around ₹12 crore to Om Sai before his retirement.
What Is the Whole Matter?
At the end of 2021, there were discussions among Jharkhand’s liquor traders that a new liquor policy would be implemented from 2022–23, with alleged influence from the Chhattisgarh liquor syndicate.
In this context, the Excise Department appointed Chhattisgarh State Marketing Limited (CSML) as a consultant to help increase liquor revenue in Jharkhand.
The government fixed a fee of ₹1.25 crore for Arunpati Tripathi for advising on the new liquor policy. After the policy was drafted, it was sent to the Revenue Council member for approval. At that time, Amarendra Prasad Singh held the position.
He disagreed with several points in the policy and suggested various changes. He also commented that the consulting company chosen to increase Jharkhand’s liquor revenue was not even able to improve liquor revenue in its own state.
