The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested Kawasi Lakhma, the former Chhattisgarh excise minister and six-time MLA of Konta, in connection with an alleged Rs 2,161 crore liquor scam. This scam reportedly took place between 2019 and 2023, during his tenure in the Bhupesh Baghel Cabinet.
While presenting Lakhma before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Raipur, the ED claimed that the former minister received around Rs 72 crore from the scam. Part of this money was allegedly used to construct a Congress office and a house for his son, Harish, both in Sukma. ED’s counsel, Saurabh Kumar Pandey, requested the custody of Lakhma to investigate further and trace the money trail.
Lakhma’s lawyer, Faisal Rizvi, confirmed that the Congress leader had been remanded into ED custody for six days. Rizvi noted that despite the first case in the scam being registered in 2022, Lakhma was only questioned once back then. Recently, some of his close associates have reportedly been coerced into giving statements against him.