Jharkhand court rejects bail plea of suspended IAS officer in land conversion case

Hazaribag (Jharkhand): A court in Jharkhand's Hazaribag district on Tuesday rejected a bail petition of suspended IAS officer Vinay Choubey in a corruption case pertaining to the conversion of a parcel of government land.

The Anti-Corruption Bureau court reserved its judgment after hearing arguments of both ACB and the defense on Friday, an advocate said.

"The court pronounced its decision today and rejected the bail plea of Choubey. We will move the Jharkhand High Court challenging it," his lawyer Shankar Banerjee said.

Choubey had sought bail in a case pertaining to illegally converting 2.75 acres of 'Khasmahal' (government) and allocating it to private persons when he was the deputy commissioner of Hazaribag.

On August 19, Choubey was granted bail by a court in Ranchi in a liquor scam case after the ACB failed to file the charge sheet within the stipulated time.

ACB arrested Choubey on May 20, and he was suspended by the Jharkhand government in view of the allegations against him in the liquor scam.

Choubey is currently undergoing treatment at state-run hospital RIMS, his lawyer said.

Choubey is alleged to have been involved in the scam with regard to the sale of liquor amounting to Rs 38 crore.

The state government had, in a statement, claimed that Choubey caused Rs 38-crore loss to the state exchequer by "indulging in fraud, conniving with criminals and misusing his post".