Suspended IAS officer Vinay Chaubey granted bail in Jharkhand liquor scam

Ranchi, Aug 19 (IANS) Suspended senior IAS officer Vinay Kumar Chaubey, arrested in connection with the Jharkhand liquor scam in May this year, was granted bail on Tuesday by a special ACB court under Section 187(2) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).

The court imposed several conditions on Chaubey before granting him bail. He must seek permission before leaving the state, cannot change his mobile number during the trial, and must furnish two personal bonds of Rs 25,000 each.

Chaubey secured bail on the ground that the ACB failed to file a chargesheet even after 92 days of his arrest.

Advocate Devesh Ajmani appeared on behalf of Chaubey in the court. The IAS officer was taken into custody on May 20 after nearly six hours of interrogation in the liquor scam case.

He was later suspended following the arrest as according to government service rules, any officer held in custody for over 48 hours is liable to be suspended from service.

A total of 13 people, including Chaubey, were named in the initial FIR. So far, 10 accused have been arrested from Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Maharashtra.

Chaubey has earlier served as Secretary of the Excise Department, Secretary to Chief Minister Hemant Soren, and in several other key positions in the state.

The alleged liquor scam dates back to 2022, when Jharkhand adopted a new excise policy on the model of Chhattisgarh. The policy was implemented through an agreement with the Chhattisgarh State Marketing Corporation Limited.

Investigations later revealed large-scale irregularities, including arbitrary changes in tender conditions to benefit a syndicate.

This syndicate, in collusion with a Chhattisgarh-based consultant firm, allegedly secured contracts for liquor supply and the hologram system in Jharkhand. Fake bank guarantees were also submitted during the tender process, leading to huge losses for the state.

An internal audit of the Jharkhand State Beverages Corporation Limited estimated the loss at Rs 130 crore, caused by seven agencies.

However, the ACB failed to submit a chargesheet within the prescribed time, paving the way for the court to grant Chaubey conditional bail.

--IANS

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