Jharkhand News : The Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) investigation into the Jharkhand liquor scam has uncovered a major alleged loophole in the state’s liquor supply monitoring system. Investigators have found that the same company contracted to supply holograms for liquor bottles was also associated with the software used for the state’s Track and Trace system.
The Track and Trace system was designed to digitally monitor liquor from the bottling plant to retail outlets and ultimately its sale to consumers. However, the ACB is now examining how liquor carrying fake holograms allegedly remained outside effective digital surveillance for an extended period.
One Company Linked to Holograms and Digital Tracking
According to the investigation, M/s Prism Holography Security Films Private Limited was awarded the contract to supply holograms for liquor bottles. Software associated with the same company was also being used for the state’s liquor Track and Trace system.
The ACB is investigating whether this arrangement created vulnerabilities in the system and whether those loopholes were allegedly exploited to facilitate the circulation of liquor carrying counterfeit holograms.
JRBCL IT Manager Questioned
As part of the investigation into the digital system, the ACB summoned Amar Kumar Mehta, IT Manager of Jharkhand State Beverages Corporation Limited (JSBCL), for questioning.
Mehta appeared at the ACB headquarters on Friday, where investigators questioned him at length about the Track and Trace system, electronic records and the digital monitoring of liquor allegedly supplied with fake holograms.
Investigators sought to understand how liquor with counterfeit holograms could allegedly evade the state’s digital monitoring mechanism despite the existence of a Track and Trace system.
Digital Records Being Examined
Sources said the IT manager was questioned about several technical and administrative aspects of the system. The ACB is now comparing his statements with available electronic evidence and digital records to establish how the alleged irregularities occurred.
Prism Holography MD Already Arrested
The investigation has also found that during the tenure of former Principal Secretary of the Excise and Prohibition Department Vinay Kumar Choubey, the hologram supply contract was awarded to M/s Prism Holography Security Films Private Limited, associated with businessman Bidhu Gupta.
The company’s Managing Director, Bidhu Gupta, was previously arrested by the ACB and sent to judicial custody. However, he subsequently obtained default bail after the investigating agency failed to file the chargesheet within the prescribed period.
ACB Connecting the Entire Network
The agency is now attempting to connect various elements of the alleged scam, including hologram supply, liquor tracking, electronic records, the Track and Trace system and the role of government officials.
Bidhu Gupta’s name has also reportedly surfaced in connection with cases linked to Greater Noida and the Chhattisgarh excise scam. The ACB is therefore examining the company’s actual role in Jharkhand’s liquor supply chain and the extent of its access to or influence over the state’s digital monitoring system.
The investigation is ongoing, and the exact nature and extent of the alleged manipulation will become clearer as the ACB verifies the digital evidence and statements of those questioned.
