Saturday, March 29, 2025
Ranchi, Jharkhand – May 20, 2025: In a significant development in Jharkhand’s ongoing anti-corruption efforts, senior IAS officer Vinay Kumar Choubey was arrested by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) on Monday following a nearly five-hour-long interrogation at the agency’s Ranchi headquarters.
Choubey, who currently serves as Secretary of Panchayati Raj Department, is a former Excise Secretary and has been under the scanner in connection with alleged irregularities and misuse of power during his earlier tenure. The ACB had summoned him earlier in the day and detained him for detailed questioning, eventually taking him into custody based on what officials described as “sufficient preliminary evidence.”
This arrest marks a dramatic escalation in the state government’s crackdown on bureaucratic corruption. Sources indicate that Choubey’s name surfaced during the probe into a larger network of administrative malpractice involving the Excise Department, prompting ACB officers to intensify their investigation.
Though specific charges have not yet been disclosed publicly, the arrest is being viewed as a serious step by Jharkhand’s anti-graft agencies in holding senior officials accountable.
Vinay Kumar Choubey, a 2005-batch IAS officer, had previously held key administrative roles in Jharkhand and was regarded as an influential figure in the state’s bureaucratic framework.
Following the arrest, Choubey is expected to be produced before a special ACB court. Legal proceedings will now determine whether he will be remanded to judicial custody or handed over for further custodial interrogation.
The Jharkhand ACB has so far not issued an official statement beyond confirming the arrest. The incident has triggered political ripples, with opposition leaders demanding transparency and calling for a wider probe into bureaucratic corruption within the Hemant Soren-led state government.
More updates are awaited as the story develops.
#WATCH | Ranchi, Jharkhand: The state Anti-Corruption Bureau arrested Jharkhand’s former Excise Secretary and current Panchayati Raj Secretary, senior IAS officer Vinay Kumar Choubey, after questioning him for about five hours. pic.twitter.com/LuWt6WLTR4
— ANI (@ANI) May 20, 2025
