The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has made a new arrest in the Chhattisgarh money laundering case involving the alleged Rs 2,000 crore liquor syndicate scandal, according to official sources. Promoter of the Giriraj hotel in Raipur, Nitesh Purohit was detained on Wednesday around midday.
The first person in this investigation to be detained by the CBI was Anwar Dhebar, the elder brother of Raipur Mayor and Congress politician Aijaz Dhebar, last week.
A third person, the famous state spirits businessman reportedly was said to have been detained in the case by the ED, though formal confirmation is still pending.
On Wednesday, the agency informed the court that Purohit was aware of the illegal operations of Anwar Dhebar and willingly assisted him in the movement of proceeds of crime to Anil Tuteja, IAS officer of the Chhattisgarh cadre and another individual.
Dhebar was also hauled before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Raipur by the agency after the conclusion of his four days of remand, and the court later extended his incarceration by a another five days, according to the sources.
The remand of his client has been prolonged by five days, according to his attorney Rahul Tyagi, who announced the news on Wednesday.
The accused must not be subjected to any form of harassment, according to a court order to the investigating organisation. According to him, the agency has been ordered by the court to keep audio and video recordings of the questioning in order to determine whether the accused was subjected to any form of torture or harassment. According to Tyagi, the court has permitted the attorney to see his client every day.
The ED had claimed that money was illegally taken from every bottle of alcohol sold in Chhattisgarh and that there was evidence of unprecedented corruption and the laundering of Rs 2,000 crore by an alcohol syndicate run by Anwar Dhebar.
An income-tax department charge sheet was presented to a Delhi court in 2022 accusing state IAS officer Anil Tuteja and others of money laundering.