Raipur, Dec 27: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday filed its final prosecution complaint in the alleged ₹3,000-crore liquor scam in Chhattisgarh, naming 59 individuals and taking the total number of accused in the case to 81, officials said.
The central agency submitted the final chargesheet in compliance with directions of the Supreme Court, which in September had asked the ED to complete the investigation and file the prosecution complaint within three months.
According to ED counsel Saurabh Pandey, the agency had earlier filed a prosecution complaint against 22 accused after completing part of the investigation.
The final chargesheet was filed after the probe against the remaining accused, including retired IAS officer Niranjan Das and former Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister’s Office, Saumya Chaurasia, was concluded.
The agency has submitted a prosecution summary running into 315 pages as part of a chargesheet exceeding 29,000 pages, comprising digital records and other documentary evidence related to the alleged money laundering.
Saumya Chaurasia, former OSD and Deputy Secretary to ex-Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, was arrested by the ED on December 16 in connection with the case.
She is also an accused in multiple other alleged scams. Retired IAS officer Niranjan Das was arrested on December 19.
The alleged liquor scam, which investigators say operated during the tenure of the previous Congress government in the state, is accused of causing substantial losses to the state exchequer while generating illegal proceeds for beneficiaries.
So far, the ED has arrested several high-profile accused, including former IAS officer Anil Tuteja, Indian Telecom Service officer Arun Pati Tripathi, businessmen Arvind Singh, Trilok Singh Dhillon and Anwar Dhebar, senior Congress leader and sitting MLA Kawasi Lakhma, and Chaitanya Baghel, son of former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.
Lakhma, a former Excise Minister and MLA from Bastar, was arrested in January 2025. The ED has alleged that he received substantial monthly cash payments generated from the proceeds of crime linked to the liquor scam.
In July, the agency arrested Chaitanya Baghel, claiming he played a key role in managing proceeds of crime worth around ₹1,000 crore.
The ED’s probe is based on a first information report registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau/Economic Offences Wing (ACB/EOW) in January last year, which named 70 individuals in connection with the alleged scam.
