Seven held from Maharashtra, Gujarat in Jharkhand liquor scam

RANCHI: The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) has arrested seven accused from Maharashtra and Gujarat in Jharkhands high-profile liquor scam case. Those arrested include Mahesh Shedge, Jagan Desai, Kamal Desai, Sheetal Desai, and Bipin Parmar. According to ACB officials, the arrests were made during coordinated operations across the two states. The accused are being brought to Ranchi on transit remand and will be produced before the ACBs special court. According to ACB officials, all the arrested individuals are associated with Vision and Marshall companies the two firms whose fake bank guarantees had brought the multi-crore liquor scam to light. The arrests mark a significant breakthrough in the ongoing investigation. Earlier in this case, the ACB had arrested senior IAS officer Vinay Chaubey , prominent Chhattisgarh-based businessman Siddharth Singhania, Jharkhand IAS officer Amit Prakash, and Prism Holography Director, Vidhu Gupta. However, due to the ACBs delay in filing the chargesheet, all of them managed to secure bail. The case has been registered as Case No. 9/2025 under the ACB. Officials confirmed that the agency had obtained arrest warrants against the seven accused last month. Notably, this case was registered by the Economic Offences Wing based on the statement of a person named Vikas Singh, a resident of Argora police station area in Ranchi. Vikas Singh is the person who had accused Chhattisgarh officials Anil Tuteja, Anwar Dhebar, Arunpati Tripathi and others of causing a loss of revenue worth billions of rupees to the Chhattisgarh government by committing a liquor scam. Following an FIR (36/2024) registered by the Chhattisgarh Economic Offences Wing, the ACB Ranchi also registered a preliminary investigation (PI). During the investigation, the ACB questioned former Excise Secretary Vinay Choubey and Gajendra Singh multiple times. Based on information obtained during the initial questioning, the ACB registered a regular FIR related to the liquor scam with government approval. After completing the investigation of the FIR registered in Chhattisgarh in March 2025, the Economic Offences Wing wrote to the Jharkhand government, requesting sanction for prosecution against Vinay Choubey and Gajendra Singh.