Jharkhand ACB arrests IAS officer, excise commissioner in liquor scam

THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK

Ranchi, May 20: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Ranchi, on Tuesday arrested IAS officer Vinay Choubey and Joint Commissioner of the Excise Department Gajendra Singh in connection with the liquor scam. The ACB team presented both accused before the court.

The ACB has accused Vinay Choubey of collaborating with the Chhattisgarh liquor syndicate to formulate a new liquor policy in Jharkhand, causing financial loss to the state government.

Following an FIR (36/2024) registered by the Chhattisgarh Economic Offences Wing, the ACB Ranchi also registered a preliminary investigation (PI).

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During the investigation, the ACB questioned former Excise Secretary Vinay Choubey and Gajendra Singh multiple times.

Based on information obtained during the initial questioning, the ACB registered a regular FIR related to the liquor scam with government approval.

In March 2025, after completing the investigation of the FIR registered in Chhattisgarh, the Economic Offences Wing wrote to the state government, requesting sanction for prosecution against Vinay Choubey and Gajendra Singh.

In light of the letter received from the Chhattisgarh Economic Offences Wing, the state government sought legal advice from Senior Supreme Court Advocate S. Nagamuthu. The government also informed the advocate about the ongoing investigation in Jharkhand.

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After receiving the legal opinion from the Supreme Court advocate, the ACB Jharkhand brought former Excise Secretary Vinay Choubey from his residence around 10:30 AM on Tuesday. After questioning Vinay Choubey, the ACB called Gajendra Singh in the afternoon. Both officials were then questioned regarding their roles in the Chhattisgarh liquor syndicate.

Case Background

At the end of 2021, a discussion began among the state’s liquor traders that a new liquor policy would be introduced for 2022-23, which would be dominated by the Chhattisgarh liquor syndicate. Amid these talks, the Excise Department appointed Chhattisgarh State Marketing Limited (CSML) as an advisor to boost liquor revenue in Jharkhand.

For advising on the formulation of the excise policy, the government fixed a fee of ₹1.25 crore for Arunapati Tripathi. After drafting the new excise policy, it was sent to the Revenue Board member for approval. At that time, Amarendra Prasad Singh was the Revenue Board member. He expressed his disagreement with the policy and suggested several changes. He also remarked that the company appointed to increase revenue had failed to boost liquor revenue in its own state.

Jharkhand’s liquor revenue growth exceeds that of Chhattisgarh. So, it was unclear how that company could advise on increasing revenue in Jharkhand. Partially accepting the suggestions made by the Revenue Board member, the state government announced the new excise policy.

With the announcement of the new policy, the Chhattisgarh liquor syndicate gained control over the liquor trade in Jharkhand. Due to conditions set in the tender, wholesale trade came under the control of two companies, Ishita and Omsai.

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To maintain control over liquor revenue, the work of producing holograms to be affixed on bottles was also assigned to Prism, a company linked to the Chhattisgarh syndicate. The manpower supply for government-run retail liquor shops was also given to companies from Chhattisgarh.

The new excise policy initially impacted the local liquor manufacturers. Before 2022-23, it was allowed to sell local liquor in plastic bottles in Jharkhand. However, the Chhattisgarh syndicate successfully implemented a rule requiring local liquor to be sold in glass bottles instead, which led to the closure of local liquor bottling plants in Jharkhand.

Subsequently, the Chhattisgarh liquor syndicate sold stockpiled local liquor from Chhattisgarh in Jharkhand. They also tried to form partnerships with local liquor manufacturers in Jharkhand, but most Jharkhand companies refused.

These companies faced harassment from excise department officials through various means. Meanwhile, after Arunapati Tripathi and others were named accused in the Chhattisgarh liquor scam by the Chhattisgarh Enforcement Directorate, some syndicate members left Jharkhand. At the same time, the government canceled agreements it had made with some of the syndicate’s companies.