CHANDIGARH: The state excise and taxation department under Haryana deputy chief minister Dushyant Chautala and the home department headed by Anil Vij are at loggerheads over the issue of spurious liquor deaths being probed by a special investigation team (SIT).
Such a situation had earlier arisen at the time of probe into illicit liquor scam too. The incident had taken place in August last year when spurious liquor had allegedly claimed over 40 lives in Panipat, Sonipat, Faridabad districts. Police had made 18 arrests and had busted the godown involved in the racket as well. Taking serious note of the incident, home minister Anil Vij had constituted the special investigation team (SIT) headed by ADGP Shrikant Jadhav to probe the incident.
Other members of the SIT included IG Ambala Range Y Puran Kumar, Jhajjar SP Rajesh Duggal, IPS Narender Bijania and IPS Ganga Ram Punia.
Sources said the SIT had asked the excise and taxation department to attach one officer with the SIT for guidance. Besides, the SIT had also sought details about the liquor stocks of certain factories, inspection related details of certain liquor factories and godown between the year 2018 to 2021.
Sources said the SIT had sought the details to complete its probe and get to the roots of the liquor mafia. Hence, the department had been writing to the excise department since October last year.
What led to confrontation was the communication from ACS (excise and taxation) Anurag Rastogi to ACS (home) Rajeev Arora, in which the former sought clarifications like as to on whose orders and under which Act the SIT was formed or whether the government had authorized it.
In the communication, Rastogi advised the home department to look for the cause of death and expressed inability to provide more details without getting the clearance from the chief minister office (CMO).
“In fact, they had asked to attach an officer and sought some details. We had to take permission from the minister in charge. As he has sought these clarifications, hence we wrote to ACS (home). No reply has been received so far,” said ACS (Excise and taxation) Anurag Rastogi.
Home minister Anil Vij remained inaccessible. However, some of the officers of SIT maintained that the issue related to authenticity has been cleared.
“Since the home department has already given extension to SIT till January 31, hence the order itself is self-explanatory about the validation behind constitution of SIT,” the officer said. He, however, remained tight-lipped about other issues raised by ACS (excise and taxation).
It may be recalled that the two departments as well as ministers had indulged in war of words into the illegal liquor scam unearthed during the lockdown. Vij had recommended setting up of SIT, but the government had settled to constitute Special Enquiry Team (SET) headed by bureaucrat T C Sharma after deputy CM had reportedly intervened in the matter.