CM Part Of Jharkhand Liquor Scam: Marandi

A day after the Jharkhand Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) arrested senior IAS officer Vinay Kumar Choubey and excise joint commissioner Gajendra Singh in connection with an alleged liquor scam, Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi on Wednesday accused chief minister Hemant Soren of being involved in the racket.

- Vishal Kant

RANCHI:

Addressing a press conference at the party's state headquarters, Marandi, also the president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)'s state unit, further alleged that the ACB probe was an attempt to cover up and "insulate the big fishes from getting caught" by the central agencies, including the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which are investigating the Chhattisgarh liquor scam — allegedly connected to the case in Jharkhand.

Stating that the Jharkhand scam is bigger than the liquor scam in Delhi, Marandi dared the chief minister to hand over the probe to the CBI as the matter pertains to two states.

"I wrote to the chief minister on April 19, 2022, warning him about this possible scam. I had provided all the details on how the policy and the tender documents were being customized, keeping the beneficiaries in mind. I had even named the companies that were part of that syndicate. Later, tenders were awarded to the same companies," Marandi said.