Bhopal, April 28 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has conducted search operations across 11 establishments associated with various liquor contractors in Madhya Pradesh, across cities of Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur and Mandsaur, said sources.

This inquiry is based on an FIR wherein allegations of grievous loss to the coffers of the state, amounting to Rs 49.42 crore, are levelled against the contractors.

They have been accused of executing a deceitful plan, like the forgery and manipulation of treasury challans, in addition to unlawfully acquiring NOCs for the procurement of liquor during the fiscal years of 2015-16 to 2017-18, if sources are to be believed.

During the three-year interval between 2015 and 2018, a tally of 194 counterfeit challans was purportedly deployed to extract liquor from warehouses overseen by the Excise Office in the district of Indore. At first, meagre challans, each bearing the semblance of sums no greater than thousands of rupees, were submitted to banks. These, however, were subsequently distorted to reflect amounts in lakhs, thereby enabling the withdrawal of copious quantities of liquor, later sold within retail establishments.

The ED started its deliberation upon this scandal in 2024 following the registration of a formal complaint. To fortify its investigation, the ED has sought vital documents from the Excise Department and local enforcement agencies, including records of bank accounts maintained by the implicated contractors, along with internal investigative reports from the Excise authorities. This matter traces its provenance to an FIR lodged at Raoji Police Station (Jabran Colony) in Indore against 14 people, accusing them of cheating and fraud. At that time, many officers of the Excise Department were also suspended.

It is alleged that fake challans were being submitted in the Excise Department for the last three years. The officers of the Excise Department were supposed to cross-check the challans every 15 days, but they did not do so for three years. In correspondence with pertinent authorities, the ED has demanded detailed accounts concerning the FIR, including the status of any recoveries made from the contractors in question.

Furthermore, the ED had sought details of inquiries conducted against Excise Department officials, accentuating the necessity of internal reports. During the implicated period, a comprehensive audit of liquor transactions revealed significant inconsistencies.

In the years preceding the scandal, liquor establishments in Indore were auctioned for Rs 556 crore in 2015, for Rs 609 crore in 2016, and for Rs 683 crore in 2017. Thus, challans amounting to Rs 1700 crore underwent scrutiny, yet no decisive outcome has thus far been ascertained, leaving the affair shrouded in ambiguity, the sources said.

/IANS