Ranchi: Senior IAS officer Vinay Choubey and Joint Commissioner of the Excise Department, Gajendra Singh, were arrested on Tuesday by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in connection with the high-profile liquor scam in Jharkhand. Both have been sent to judicial custody following their arrest.
Gajendra Singh, known for his deep-rooted influence in the Excise Department, had been stationed in Ranchi for nearly a decade. His initial posting in the city was as In-charge Deputy Commissioner of Excise. Since then, despite numerous transfers of department secretaries and other excise officers, Singh remained unshaken in his Ranchi post—a testament to his political clout and strategic connections.
Over the years, Singh’s authority within the department grew steadily. Eventually, during the COVID-19 pandemic, a special single-seat post was created specifically to elevate him to the role of Joint Commissioner, a rare and telling move. His name has also surfaced in liquor scam investigations in Chhattisgarh, further complicating his legal standing.
Singh’s decade-long tenure in Ranchi, during which he was never transferred despite multiple administrative changes, has now come under scrutiny as the investigation into the liquor scam deepens.