In-charge District Excise Officer of Mahasamund, Nidhish Kumar Koshti, Suspended
Government takes action in case of negligence and irregularities
Raipur, June 06, 2025/ The Chhattisgarh government has suspended Mr. Nidhish Kumar Koshti, the in-charge District Excise Officer of Mahasamund district, with immediate effect, due to irregularities in government work, sale of liquor at prices higher than the prescribed rates, a serious shortage in stock, and discrepancies of lakhs of rupees in sales revenue. This action has been taken under the ‘Zero Tolerance’ policy, as per the instructions of Chief Minister Mr. Vishnu Deo Sai. During the suspension period, Mr. Koshti’s headquarters has been fixed at the Excise Commissioner’s Office, Nava Raipur Atal Nagar.
It is noteworthy that on May 29, 2025, a senior officer from the Excise Department headquarters in Raipur conducted a surprise inspection of the composite liquor shop located in Ghodari, Mahasamund district. Before the inspection, a decoy customer was sent to buy liquor by giving a total of 4 notes of Rs 500 each, i.e., a total of Rs 2000. The seller sold the liquor for Rs 2000 instead of the prescribed price of Rs 1760. During the inquiry, the seller admitted to selling at a higher price. A shortage of 1886 pieces of desi liquor masala and an economic discrepancy of Rs 1 lakh 88 thousand were found in the physical verification of the stock. Furthermore, a shortage of Rs 3 lakh 8 thousand in cash and Rs 1 lakh 99 thousand in foreign liquor was detected compared to the sales amount. Thus, a case of financial irregularities of a total of Rs 6 lakh 96 thousand was detected. Considering the above irregularities, the state government has taken action to suspend the in-charge District Excise Officer, Mahasamund, with immediate effect, under the Chhattisgarh Civil Service Conduct Rules.
The Excise Commissioner informed that earlier, on May 3, 2025, the state-level flying squad had seized 351.17 bulk liters of illegal liquor manufactured in Odisha and valid only in Odisha in Bagbahra (Mahasamund), in which three cases were registered and action was taken against the absconding accused under sections 34(2) and 59(k) of the Excise Act. Chief Minister Mr. Vishnu Dev Sai has said that any kind of negligence, corruption, or irregularity in the discharge of government responsibilities will not be tolerated in the state. This action taken in Mahasamund is proof of the government’s zero tolerance policy.