Following Chhattisgarh, preparations are now underway to tighten the noose in the liquor scam case in Jharkhand as well. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Chhattisgarh—which is investigating the liquor scam there—has identified individuals in its sixth supplementary chargesheet who are implicated in the scam and also possess connections to Jharkhand.
During the tenure of Vinay Kumar Choubey, the former Principal Secretary of the Excise and Prohibition Department, an excise policy modeled after Chhattisgarh’s was implemented in the state. The Chhattisgarh-based officials and liquor traders who held dominance over liquor sales in Jharkhand under this policy have all been chargesheeted in Chhattisgarh. The ED in Jharkhand is also set to hold them accountable, as the Jharkhand branch of the ED has registered a case related to this matter.
In Jharkhand, the ED has registered two separate Enforcement Case Information Reports (ECIRs) in connection with the liquor scam. One of these ECIRs is based on an FIR registered with the Economic Offences Wing in Raipur, while the second is based on an FIR related to the liquor scam registered with the Jharkhand Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on May 20, 2025.
Both ECIRs pertain to the tenure of Vinay Kumar Choubey, the former Principal Secretary of the Excise and Prohibition Department, Jharkhand. It is alleged that, in exchange for hefty commissions, he facilitated the entry of individuals accused in the Chhattisgarh liquor scam into the liquor sales market in Jharkhand.
Contracts were awarded to entities ranging from placement agencies to liquor supply companies in Jharkhand. These companies were subsequently blacklisted after allegations surfaced regarding the misappropriation of crores of rupees. Currently, the Jharkhand government still has outstanding dues exceeding ₹450 crore owed by the aforementioned accused companies from Chhattisgarh, and the government is actively striving to recover these funds.
Documentation Completed by Jharkhand ED; Investigation Continues
Following an investigation into the money laundering aspects of both liquor scam cases registered within its jurisdiction, the Jharkhand ED has conducted raids at the premises of suspended IAS officer Vinay Kumar Choubey and other individuals accused in connection with him.
He has also been interrogated in connection with the case registered in Raipur, Chhattisgarh. Additionally, the ED has subjected him to interrogation here in Jharkhand as well. During his tenure, the arrested operators of placement agencies—which had secured contracts for supplying manpower to retail liquor shops using fraudulent bank guarantees—were also interrogated while in remand.
The Jharkhand ED continues to gather evidence and statements related to the liquor scam so that it can file a chargesheet in the ED’s Special Court, backed by irrefutable evidence.
**Companies Chargesheeted in Chhattisgarh Received Payments from Jharkhand**
The ED recently filed chargesheets against two companies in Chhattisgarh—M/s Dishita Ventures Private Limited and M/s Om Sai Beverages Private Limited—and attached their movable and immovable assets; notably, officials in Jharkhand had shown undue favor to these very entities.
Previously, the then Commissioner of the Excise and Prohibition Department, IAS officer Amit Prakash (now retired), had authorized a payment of ₹11 crore. This payment was disbursed just days after Yogendra Prasad took the oath of office and assumed charge as the departmental minister, and was executed without his knowledge. Amit Prakash had cleared this payment merely a few days prior to his own retirement.
Both of these Chhattisgarh-based companies had supplied wholesale liquor in Jharkhand during the year 2022. The then Commissioner had authorized their payment in November 2024. This payment was made even while four placement agencies—all linked to the Chhattisgarh syndicate and subsequently blacklisted in Jharkhand—collectively owed outstanding dues amounting to approximately ₹450 crore.
These four placement agencies include M/s A2Z Infra Services Limited, M/s Eagle Hunter Solutions Limited, M/s Prime One Workforce Private Limited, and M/s Sumit Facilities. The matter regarding the recovery of this outstanding amount is currently sub judice before the Supreme Court.
