Chhattisgarh Liquor scam enters Trial phase
Liquor scam Trial begins
Raipur | Correspondent: On Thursday, 59 accused individuals appeared simultaneously before the Special PMLA Court in Raipur in connection with Chhattisgarh's ₹3,000 crore liquor scam case. Following the submission of a voluminous final chargesheet spanning approximately 29,800 pages by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in December 2025, this case has now formally entered the trial phase.
The total number of accused persons involved in this massive scam has now risen to 81.
Those who appeared before the court included Saumya Chaurasia (former Deputy Secretary in the Chief Minister's Office), former IAS officer Niranjan Das, and several high-ranking officials from the Excise Department.
According to the ED's investigation, between 2019 and 2022 during the tenure of the then Congress government this syndicate generated illicit earnings through four distinct methods.
These methods primarily involved the sale of unaccounted-for country liquor through government-run outlets, the collection of commissions from suppliers, and the diversion of cash through political channels. Investigative agencies have, to date, attached assets worth over ₹382 crore in connection with this case; these assets include Raipur's Hotel Vennington Court and more than 1,000 other properties.
The repercussions of this case now appear to be reaching the Congress party organization itself. The Economic Offences Wing (EOW) recently interrogated employees and accountants associated with the State Congress Committee (PCC) office, while PCC Treasurer Ramgopal Agarwal reportedly remains absconding.
Commencing with a massive volume of documentary evidence spanning 30,000 pages and involving hundreds of witnesses, this trial is poised to trigger significant ripples within Chhattisgarh's political landscape and administrative corridors in the days to come.
