The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has launched a thorough investigation into a case of excise duty irregularities through a raid and search operation at two locations in West Bengal. The operation is taking place at the office of a liquor sales company in Kolkata and at the residence of a hotel owner in Purulia town.
In Purulia, the ED officials are conducting searches at the house of the hotel owner near Parbeliya Bazar of Nituria Police Station. Simultaneously, another team is searching the restaurant owned by the hotel owner. Both teams are accompanied by Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel.
According to sources, the liquor sales company is suspected of evading excise duty. The ED’s actions stem from an enforcement case information report (ECIR) filed in 2021 after an investigation exposed significant financial irregularities following an FIR by the state police in 2015-16 over alleged corruption in excise duty.
Following a change in government in West Bengal, the ED has intensified its efforts in various corruption cases in the state. Recent raids by the ED in Howrah and Nadia, related to a chit fund case, and investigations into municipal recruitment corruption have also been reported. The agency is probing allegations of embezzlement amounting to around Rs 165 crore from depositors under the guise of government benefits.
The excise duty irregularities investigation is the latest in a series of probes being conducted by the ED in West Bengal.
