EOW files 9,000-page charge sheet in Chhattisgarh Liquor Scam, accuses AP Tripathi and Anwar Dhebar

Raipur
In the Chhattisgarh liquor scam case, the EOW (Economic Offences Wing) on Monday submitted a 9,000-page charge sheet against A P Tripathi, a senior officer in the excise department, serving as the Managing Director (MD) of CSMCL (Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited), and businessman Anwar Dhebar, and others. EOW officers arrived at the court with case-related documents packed in 12 packets. Previously, the ED (Enforcement Directorate) had filed a 10,000-page charge sheet against the accused.
In fact, after the ED’s report on the liquor scam exceeding Rs 2000 crore, the EOW filed the case on January 17. Subsequently, the EOW arrested AP Tripathi, Anwar Dhebar, Trilok Singh Dhillon, and Arvind Singh for interrogation.
The EOW brought the case documents packed in 12 packets to the special court in Raipur. About 12 days ago, the ED had submitted a charge sheet in the liquor scam case to the PMLA court in Raipur. A 200-page accusation letter was also presented. The charge sheet identified retired IAS officer Anil Tuteja, businessman Anwar Dhebar, Trilok Dhillon, and former excise department officer AP Tripathi as the masterminds.
The documents revealed that the accused misused the government system and executed major corruption. It was also mentioned that the money was distributed with some political partnerships. The charge sheet includes details of WhatsApp chats between businessmen and officials, outlining the operations of the liquor scam syndicate.
The ED had identified Dhebar and Tripathi as the masterminds of the scam. On the other hand, in the fake hologram case, the UP STF team will present Anwar Dhebar and Arunapati Tripathi in the Meerut court. Both were taken on a three-day remand by the UP STF and were extensively interrogated in Lucknow, revealing several details. If the Meerut court releases the accused, the EOW can take them into custody again for further investigation.
The excise policy was changed as the ED stated in its charge sheet. It described how a large-scale scam was conducted in the excise department through the criminal syndicate of Anwar Dhebar, brother of Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar. The ED mentioned that the excise policy, initially formulated in 2017, was changed to sell liquor through CSMCL.
However, after 2019, Dhebar got Tripathi appointed as the MD of CSMCL. Corruption was carried out through a syndicate of officials, businessmen, and politically influential individuals, resulting in a scam worth Rs 2161 crore.
According to the charge sheet, during the BJP government, a rule was made to purchase liquor from all agencies and sell it in shops. The Congress government later changed this to assign supply responsibilities to their preferred firms.

Tripathi, MD of CSMCL, was supposed to prevent illegal liquor sales but became part of the syndicate after his appointment, accepting bribes and commissions. A commission of Rs 75 per case of country liquor was to be given. Tripathi maintained accounts of the commission from distillers and suppliers and then handed it over to Anwar Dhebar.