In the complaint lodged in March and received by Lokayukta office on March 19 Vinay Mishra alleged that ‘the rule in the Excise Department is that only the company which has a capital of Rs 100 crore and a turnover of Rs 400 crore can be given the contract to supply liquor in the state. But the company which was selected for the contract at the behest of the Excise Commissioner Adarsh Singh has a capital of just Rs 1 crore’.
Bhopal: Alleging a bigger liquor scam in Uttar Pradesh than one that came to light in Delhi in which several Aam Admi Party (AAP) leaders including former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal are accused a senior journalist from Prayagraj Vinay Mishra has lodged a complaint to Lokayukta office in Lucknow.
Vinay Mishra has been associated with several reputed news outlets in his career of more than 3 decades.
In the complaint lodged in March and received by Lokayukta office on March 19 Vinay Mishra alleged that ‘the rule in the Excise Department is that only the company which has a capital of Rs 100 crore and a turnover of Rs 400 crore can be given the contract to supply liquor in the state. But the company which was selected for the contract at the behest of the Excise Commissioner Adarsh Singh has a capital of just Rs 1 crore’.
Talking to SunToday Vinay Mishra said if a fair inquiry was conducted the liquor scam would prove to be bigger than what came to light in Delhi.
Senior journalist Vinay Mishra, a resident of Naini, Prayagraj, visited Lokayukta office in Lucknow and lodged the complaint.
He demanded investigation into what he said a scam of thousands of crores of rupees.
The senior journalist alleged the contract awarded to the company with a turnover of just Rs 1 crore was not possible without the excise commissioner’s role in it.
He further alleged misleading and baseless reports were sent by the Excise commissioner to the chief minister officer to hide the facts and, thus, award the contract to the company which has just Rs 1 crore turnover.
Vinay Mishra accused certain other officers too of the department of running a transfer posting racket which, he demanded, should be inquired into.
He demanded a fair inquiry into the alleged scam and severe punishment to those who, he said, are involved in the scam.
The senior journalist also demanded transfer of the excise commissioner from his post to ensure that the inquiry is conducted in a free and fair atmosphere.
Despite efforts the excise commissioner could not be reached for his comments.
When attempts were made to reach him on the department’s toll-free number the staff which attended the call refused to share contact numbers of the commissioner. There was no response to query posted through email to the department.
