Chhattisgarh: ED arrests Raipur Mayor's brother in `liquor scam' case

The Enforcement Directorate ED on Saturday arrested Raipur Mayor and Congress leader Aijaz Dhebars elder brother Anwar in a money laundering case linked to an alleged liquor scam in Chhattisgarh.Anwar Dhebar, a liquor businessman, was arrested from a city hotel in the morning, sources said.In the afternoon he was produced before Additional District and Session Judge Ajay Singh Rajput in a CRPF escort.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday arrested Raipur Mayor and Congress leader Aijaz Dhebar's elder brother Anwar in a money laundering case linked to an alleged liquor scam in Chhattisgarh.

Anwar Dhebar, a liquor businessman, was arrested from a city hotel in the morning, sources said.

In the afternoon he was produced before Additional District and Session Judge Ajay Singh Rajput in a CRPF escort. The court sent him in four-day custody of the ED, said Dhebar's lawyer Rahul Tyagi.

The ED had demanded his 14-day custody which the defence lawyer opposed. The action against his client seemed to be politically motivated and they will move the Supreme Court, advocate Tyagi said.

Anwar's brother and Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar is a leader of the ruling Congress in Chhattisgarh. The case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act against Anwar stemed from an Income Tax department charge sheet filed earlier in connection with alleged tax evasion and irregularities in liquor trade in Chhattisgarh and some other states, sources said.

The central agency, which has been probing an alleged coal levy scam in the state, on March 29 carried out searches at the properties of Anwar and some other liquor businessmen including Baldev Singh Bhatia alias Pappu Bhatia.

Last month, the ED sent a letter to Chhattisgarh chief secretary requesting him to ensure that summons was served to two state officers in a “liquor scam” case and they appeared before the agency for questioning.

The agency is yet to disclose details of the alleged liquor scam.