ED raids: In connection with its ongoing money laundering probe into an alleged coal levy scam, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted raids at multiple locations in Chhattisgarh and some other states.
According to officials, the searches are being undertaken in the state capital Raipur, Korba, Durg and Ranchi in Jharkhand and Bengaluru in Karnataka. They said that premises linked to IAS officer and secretary in the state government Anbalagan P are also being investigated.
Earlier in October 2022, the federal agency had initiated a probe in this case after it raided another IAS officer of the state, Sameer Vishnoi, and some businessmen.
What led to the investigation?
The investigation relates to "a massive scam in which illegal levy of Rs 25 was being extorted for every tonne of coal transported in Chhattisgarh by a cartel involving senior bureaucrats, businessmen, politicians and middlemen", the agency has alleged.
ALSO READ: Chhattisgarh: Man stabs woman 51 times with screwdriver for refusing to talk to him
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel's deputy secretary Saumya Chaurasia, Vishnoi, coal trader Suryakant Tiwari, his uncle Laxmikant Tiwari and another coal businessman Sunil Agrawal have been arrested in this case till now.
(With inputs from PTI)
