ED Arrests Chattisgarh Ex-Minister Kawasi Lakhma in Liquor Scam, Claims ‘I Didn’t Know What I Signed’

Raipur (The Uttam Hindu): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested former Chhattisgarh excise minister Kawasi Lakhma in connection with a multi-crore liquor scam. Lakhma, a six-time MLA from Konta, Sukma was questioned by the ED for several days at its Raipur office before his arrest. The alleged scam took place during the previous Congress government of which Lakhma was a part. While being taken to court, Lakhma maintained his innocence, telling reporters, "Not a single penny has been found from me, yet I’ve been arrested. I was cooperating with them. The BJP is falsely implicating a poor man like me. I will continue to raise the issues of Bastar."

On December 28, the ED had raided multiple properties linked to Lakhma, including his official residence in Raipur and his son Harish’s residence in Sukma. After the raids, Lakhma spoke to the media saying, "They asked me if I knew about the liquor scam. I told them I saw it on TV and read about it in the papers but I was unaware of it. I’m an illiterate person. Whatever papers were placed before me, I signed. I don't know what they took my signature on." He further alleged that he was being targeted stating, "The liquor scam has been going on for a year. Why didn’t they take action against me earlier? The local body elections are approaching and they want to defame me and harm the Congress party."

The Chhattisgarh Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had filed an FIR in the liquor scam case based on complaints from the ED in January this year. The case involves accusations that a criminal syndicate in collaboration with excise officials was selling bootlegged alcohol to government liquor stores and extorting illegal commissions from their sales. According to the ED, the syndicate has accumulated Rs 2,161 crore. The FIR was registered on January 17 for charges of corruption, cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy under the IPC and the Prevention of Corruption Act. A total of 70 individuals have been named in the FIR, including Lakhma, IAS officer Anil Tuteja and ITS officer Arunpati Tripathi. The ED claims that Anwar Dhebar, brother of Raipur mayor and Congress leader Aijaz Dhebar is the mastermind behind the operation. Although the ED had filed a prosecution complaint last year, the new FIR links Lakhma and others to the case.