Jharkhand IAS officer Vinay Kumar Choubey was arrested on Tuesday in connection with a money laundering case linked to the state's alleged excise scam.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) took him into custody after prolonged questioning and presented him before a special court, which remanded him to judicial custody until 3 June.

Choubey, a 1999-batch IAS officer currently serving as Principal Secretary of the Panchayati Raj Department, is accused of irregularities during his previous tenure as Excise Secretary. The ACB claims that his alleged fraudulent actions and corrupt practices caused a ₹38 crore loss to the state exchequer. The government has formally permitted the registration of an FIR against him.

Joint Excise Commissioner Gajendra Singh has also been arrested in the same case. Both officials were earlier raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in October 2024. Those searches extended across 15 locations in Ranchi and Raipur, and were conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

The ED’s probe stems from a September 2024 FIR filed by the Chhattisgarh Police ACB, which names several individuals including Choubey, retired Chhattisgarh IAS officer Anil Tuteja, Indian Telecom Service officer Arunpati Tripathi, and businessman Anwar Dhebar, brother of Raipur Mayor Aijaz Dhebar.

Choubey’s lawyer, Devesh Ajmani, stated that the grounds of arrest had not been fully disclosed and cited his client’s health conditions, submitting relevant medical reports to the court.

The case highlights a growing crackdown on alleged corruption within excise policy administration in Jharkhand and neighbouring states. Further investigations are underway.
(With PTI inputs)