The Chhattisgarh Economic Offences Wing (EOW) on Monday filed a detailed 1,500-page supplementary chargesheet before the Special Court (Prevention of Corruption Act), Raipur, in connection with the alleged Rs. 140 crore rice milling scam. The chargesheet names retired IAS officer Mr. Anil Tuteja and businessman Mr. Anwar Dhebar as key accused in a wide-reaching corruption and criminal conspiracy case that shook the state’s civil supply and procurement system.
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Corruption in Civil Supplies Corporation: Top Officials Under Scanner
Mr. Tuteja, who formerly served as Managing Director of the Chhattisgarh Civil Supplies Corporation Limited, has been accused of colluding with the Chhattisgarh State Rice Millers Association to extort crores from millers. The chargesheet reveals that during the previous Congress administration, these activities allegedly generated illegal gains of Rs. 20 crore for Mr. Tuteja through coercive tactics.
Link to Liquor Scam and Influence on Multiple Departments
Mr. Anwar Dhebar, brother of former Raipur Mayor and Congress leader Mr. Aijaz Dhebar, has also been named in the scam. Both Tuteja and Dhebar are currently in judicial custody following their previous arrests in the liquor scam case. Investigations have revealed that Mr. Dhebar, a politically influential figure during 2022–23, exerted significant control over various departments, including Public Works and Forest, according to digital evidence retrieved during Income Tax Department raids.
ED and Income Tax Findings: Scam Tied to Inflated Paddy Incentives
The Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is conducting a parallel investigation, has flagged irregularities in incentive payouts to rice millers. As per ED’s findings, the paddy milling incentive was tripled—from Rs. 40 to Rs. 120 per quintal—during the Kharif marketing season 2021–22. This led to a total incentive pool of Rs. 540 crore, out of which Rs. 175 crore allegedly made its way back as kickbacks to senior officials.
Systematic Extortion: Millers Pressured via MARKFED
The charges detail how officials of MARKFED (Chhattisgarh State Marketing Federation Ltd) were coerced into withholding miller payments to pressure them into making illegal payments. The extortion was allegedly calculated at Rs. 20 per quintal, creating a corrupt ecosystem involving bureaucrats and politically-connected businessmen.
Previous Arrests and Ongoing Probe into Senior Congress Leaders
This supplementary chargesheet follows the earlier arrests of Mr. Roshan Chandrakar, treasurer of the Rice Millers Association, and Mr. Manoj Soni, former Managing Director. Investigators are also reportedly examining the role of former Congress treasurer Mr. Ramgopal Agarwal in the financial irregularities.
Institutional Collapse Under Review
The case points to a deeper structural failure in state procurement mechanisms, and the misuse of incentive policies under the guise of welfare. The scandal has raised serious questions about transparency, regulatory oversight, and conflict of interest in government-corporate interactions.
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