ED attaches assets worth Rs 121.87cr in Chhattisgarh liquor scam case

New Delhi, May 22 The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday said it has attached 119 immovable properties worth Rs 121.87 crore in connection with the Rs 2,000 crore Chhattisgarh liquor scam case.

The ED said that the attached properties include 14 assets worth Rs 8.83 crore of IAS Anil Tuteja; 69 properties worth Rs 98.78 crore of Anwar Dhebar; three properties worth Rs 1.54 crore of Vikas Agarwal, 32 properties worth Rs 11.35 crore of Arvind Singh and one property worth Rs 1.35 crore of Arunpati Tripathi.

An official said that the attached properties of Dhebar include Hotel Vennington Court, Raipur, being run under the aegis of his firm, Dhebar Buildcon.

The ED has said that Dhebar, the brother of the Mayor of Raipur, Ajaz Dhebar, was the "kingpin" in the liquor scam.

Besides, IAS Anil Tuteja, who is said to be close to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, was termed as the mastermind behind the Rs 2,000 crore liquor scam.

The ED has alleged that a criminal syndicate was operating in Chhattisgarh, which was involved in illegal bribe collections by exerting control over government departments.

The ED has further alleged that this syndicate comprised high-level state government officials, private individuals, and political executives of the state government.

The ED recently conducted more than 50 search operations at various locations in Raipur, Bhilai, Delhi, Kolkata and Mumbai and has been successful in seizing assets worth Rs 58 crore including cash, fixed deposits, shares and jewellery.