Economic Offence Wing/ Anti-Corruption Bureau (EOW) Chhattisgarh has carried out searches at the Korba-based office of the mining department in connection with a case linked to an alleged coal levy scam worth Rs 540 crores on June 6.
The officials of the agency reached the mining office of Korba on Thursday and investigated the documents linked to the multi-crore alleged scam that flourished in the state between 2020-2022, according to the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED’s) investigation.
The officials had reportedly reached the power city on the evening of June 5, 2024, and commenced their investigation into the matter on the morning of June 6. The development comes on the heels of EOW’s remand of coal businessman and alleged main kingpin of the scam, Suryakant Tiwari and Indian Administrative Service (IAS) official, Sameer Vishnoi.
Recently the agency has also interrogated former deputy secretary of ex- Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Saumya Chaurasiya and suspended IAS Ranu Sahu, both accused in the much debated coal levy scam. Reportedly the official of the EOW have also grilled brothers of both Chaurasiya and Sahu recently.
Earlier the agency had produced Sahu and Chaurasiya in a special court after completion of their two-day remand on Wednesday from where they have been sent to judicial custody till June 18. Other than Chaurasiya and Sahu, Sameer Vishnoi and Suryakant Tiwari are also on EOW’s remand in connection with the case till June 10.
Notably the EOW had registered a case against as many as 35 accused including the then deputy secretary in Chhattisagrh CMO, Saumya Chaurasia, IAS, Ranu Sahu, Sameer Vishnoi, coal businessman, Suryakant Tiwari, former minister and Congress leader, Amarjit Bhagat, Congress MLA, Devendra Yadav, former MLA Chandrika Prasad Rai and others in connection with the multi-crore scam in January this year.
The agency initiated a probe into the matter after the ED submitted a report stating that a massive coal levy scam in which illegal levy of Rs 25 was extorted for every ton of coal transported in the state by a cartel of senior bureaucrats, coal businessmen, politicians and middlemen.
ED’s Investigation into the case
According to the ED’s investigation into the matter, the alleged kingpin Suryakant Tiwari ran a cartel with backing from a few politician and senior state government officials to collect levy from the coal businessmen and transporters.
The ED investigation further revealed that the amendments made to induce a mandatory no objection certificate (NOC) by the district magistrate for the coal transporters led Tiwari to smoothly operate the extortion racket.
ED has provisionally attached 90 immovable properties, luxurious vehicles, jewellery & cash worth Rs 51.40 Crore belongs to Ms Ranu Sahu IAS, Suryakant Tiwari, Devender Yadav,MLA, Chandradev Prasad Rai,MLA, and others in the Coal Levy Extortion Scam in the State of Chhattisgarh.
— ED (@dir_ed) May 9, 2023
The economic intelligence agency had also claimed that an extortion money of Rs25 per metric ton was fixed for the transporters and coal businessmen to get the NOC. The extorted amount later got distributed among politicians and government officials; the ED investigation also highlighted irregularities in issuing NOC by the concerned authorities.
Notably, ED commence its probe into the matter in October 2022 and has so far nabbed over 10 accused in connection with the case, it also has attached assets worth approximately Rs 220 crore after conducting raids over dozens of locations linked to the accused.
The agency during the investigation had also claimed that Chaurasiya, Vishnoi and others coal traders allegedly connected to them used their relatives to create ‘benami’ assets. ED’s probe into the matter stems from a complaint registered by the Income Tax (IT) department following raids by the agency in the year 2022.
