Simultaneous early morning raids jolt political and commercial circles

🔸 Congress leader, prominent trader, and hardware merchant targeted

🔸 Financial documents, property records seized during coordinated action

By : Akshay Lahre
Bastar/Surguja/Raipur : In a sweeping crackdown on the alleged multi-crore liquor scam in Chhattisgarh, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Saturday launched a coordinated series of raids at 15 locations across five districts, intensifying the heat on former Excise Minister Kawasi Lakhma’s close associates.

Well before sunrise, multiple ACB-EOW teams mobilised simultaneously across Raipur, Dantewada, Sukma, Ambikapur and Jagdalpur, catching many of the targeted individuals by surprise. Over 100 officers were pressed into action, with each team tasked to search residences and establishments linked to political figures and businessmen suspected to have played a role in the scam.

One of the most politically sensitive raids took place at the residence of Congress leader Rajkumar Tambon in Dantewada. Widely considered a trusted aide of Lakhma and a grassroots voice of the underprivileged, Tambon’s residence and offices were searched meticulously. Officials sifted through volumes of paperwork and financial records in pursuit of evidence linked to disproportionate assets and possible monetary trails in the liquor distribution network.

In Ambikapur, the focus shifted to businessman Ashok Agrawal, proprietor of Dhwajaram Ramkumar — a supply firm engaged in contracts with several government departments. Agrawal’s name has surfaced previously in a separate investigation tied to the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) fund misuse. His dealings are once again under the scanner in the context of possible irregularities connected to the Excise Department’s procurement mechanisms.

The district of Sukma saw action at four separate locations, including the residence of a local hardware trader in Kotwali area’s Basantalal Gali. Officials suspect that the individual amassed wealth far beyond his known income. Property documents, bank statements, and transaction records are being verified as part of the ACB-EOW probe into unexplained financial assets.

Though no formal statement has been issued yet, sources within the agency have confirmed that important documents were seized from multiple premises. Teams are in the process of cataloguing the evidence, with further summons and questioning of involved individuals expected in the days ahead.