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TMI BlogED arrests Chhattisgarh ex-minister Kawasi Lakhma in ‘liquor scam’; in agency custody till Jan 21X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ED arrests Chhattisgarh ex-minister Kawasi Lakhma in ‘liquor scam’; in agency custody till Jan 21 - PTI News Dated:- 15-1-2025 PTI - News - ED arrests Chhattisgarh ex-minister Kawasi Lakhma in ‘liquor scam’; in agency custody till Jan 21 - - - Dated:- 15-1-2025 - Raipur, Jan 15 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday arrested Congress MLA in Chhattisgarh and former state excise minister Kaw ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... asi Lakhma in an alleged liquor scam. He was produced before the special court for the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) here which granted the ED his custodial remand till January 21. The central agency had on December 28 raided the properties of the former minister and his son Harish in Raipur, Sukma and Dhamtari districts as part of a money laundering investigation into the case. It sub ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sequently questioned Lakhma (71) and his son in the case. Lakhma was called for questioning to the ED office here in the Pachpedi Naka area on Wednesday and arrested in the afternoon. The legislator was produced in the court of special PMLA judge Atul Kumar Shrivastav with the ED seeking his custody for 14 days, Special Public Prosecutor Saurabh Kumar Pande said. The court granted his custodial re ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... mand to the ED till January 21, he added. Earlier, talking to reporters before entering the courtroom, Lakhma claimed that no document or even a single penny were found during the raids. "I am being sent to jail in a false case," he said. The tribal leader alleged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai were trying to suppress the voice of ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... a poor tribal who was also the voice of the tribal-dominated Bastar region. "As panchayat polls are going to take place in the state, they want to keep me away from the elections," Lakhma claimed. Congress leader and former chief minister Bhupesh Baghel accused the ED of acting on the directives of the BJP-led Union government. "The arrest of former minister and senior MLA Kawasi Lakhma ji is an ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... action taken with the intention of political vendetta. On the instructions of its masters sitting in the central government, the ED has been conspiring to defame Congress leaders. The entire Congress party stands with Kawasi Lakhma ji," Baghel said in a post on 'X'. The ED in a statement had earlier claimed that Lakhma was the main recipient of the proceeds of crime when he was the excise minister ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... during the Congress regime. Lakhma, as per the ED, used to receive substantial amounts in cash on a monthly basis. The alleged liquor scam, as per the ED, took place between 2019-22 when Chhattisgarh was ruled by the Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government. Lakhma, a six-time MLA from Konta (Sukma district), was the excise minister then. The scam resulted in a massive loss to the state exchequer a ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd filled the pockets of the beneficiaries of the liquor syndicate with more than Rs 2,100 crore, the agency had claimed. This syndicate comprises senior bureaucrats of state, politicians, their associates and officials of the excise department, it had said. In its remand application Lakhma's remand, the ED said the Congress leader has been named by multiple individuals in their statements as the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... recipient of monthly payments from syndicate out of the proceeds of crime. “Lakhma was the sitting state excise minister and had complete control on the operations. He was well aware of the irregularities in his department, yet he did nothing to prevent it as he was earning a huge amount of proceeds of crime for his role”, it said. Lakhma played an important role in policy change which led to the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... introduction of FL-10A license (these license holders were granted tender for the supply of foreign liquor) in the state. He behaved as an integral part of the syndicate and actively assisted the syndicate by manoeuvring the process and procedures as per their direction, it said. The agency claimed that the misdoings of his officers were also accepted by Lakhma who during his statement of January ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 1 to the ED claimed that his officers namely Arun Pati Tripathi and Niranjan Das used to take his signatures on excise-related documents. Arvind Singh, a close associate of businessman Anwar Dhebar and Arun Pati Tripathi, then managing director of Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited, a state body for the purchase and sale of liquor, in their statements said Rs 50 lakh was paid to Lakh ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ma every month, as per the ED. Tripathi in his statement also said that Lakma was paid an additional Rs 1.50 crore by Dhebar, it said. Dhebar, Tripathi and Singh are also accused in the alleged scam. The ED said Jagganath Raju Sahu, chairman of Sukma Nagar Palika, is a close associate of Lakhma. As per call data records, Sahu was in touch with Harish Lakhma. Incriminating documents reflecting cash ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... expenses by Kawasi Lakhma were recovered from Sahu’s residence, it said. These documents were shown to Sahu and he revealed that they contain expenses undertaken for the construction of the Congress Bhavan and house of Harish Lakhma in Sukma, the agency added. PTI TKP KRK NR - News - Press release - PIB Tax Management India - taxmanagementindia - taxmanagement - taxmanagementindia.com - TMI - Tax ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... TMI - TMITax - News - Press release - PIB Tax Management India - taxmanagementindia - taxmanagement - taxmanagementindia.com - TMI - TaxTMI - TMITax ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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