No scam, says Dushyant as Vij backs VB probe

Chandigarh, August 27

Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij today said the Vigilance Bureau would probe the alleged liquor scam during the lockdown even as Deputy CM Dushyant Chautala denied any such scam, saying the state had collected an additional Rs 263-crore revenue in the first quarter.

Dushyant, who holds Excise portfolio, said the increased revenue came in the form of permit and retail licence fee and additional excise duty. Vij and Dushyant addressed separate press conferences here. The Home Minister, who has ordered a Vigilance probe after a special enquiry team (SET) submitted its report on July 31, said, "An explanation has been sought from Excise and Taxation Commissioner Shekhar Vidyarthi while the Home Department has been asked to take action against former Sonepat SP Pratiksha Godara, who has since been repatriated to her parent cadre."

Dushyant claimed it was for first time this year that the government had collected an additional excise duty of more than Rs 27 crore in the first quarter. "This is 2,700 times more than that in the first quarter last year," he said. — TNS

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