Trouble does not seem to be ending soon for the suspended IAS official, Ranu Sahu who had earlier granted an interim bail by the apex court on July 8 as a special court of Raipur has denied bail to the Chhattisgarh cadre official in connection with her alleged involvement in the multi-crore coal levy scam.
Hearing on a petition pertaining to new FIRs filed by the EOW in connection with the alleged scam against Sahu and two other accused IAS Sameer Vishnoi and Saumya Chaurasiya, the special court had earlier reserved its decision on Tuesday, the court however turned down her bail plea on Wednesday closing way for her immediate release from jail.
Significantly, the Supreme Court on July 8 granted bail to Ranu Sahu and businessmen Dipesh Taank till August 7, raising speculations about release of both the accused in the coal levy scam who have been in custody for quite some time (One and one and half year respectively), however the turning down of bail plea by the special court has closed the doors for Sahu.
The other accused however reported to be come out of the jail on July 9 and it is being speculated that the court might grant an EOW’s custody of him which could once again lead him to trouble as well.
The apex court had provided relief to the duo in an ongoing investigation being conducted by Enforcement Directorate in connection with the case
Fresh FIRs lodged by EOW
Notably, the EOW have registered a total of three fresh FIR against suspended IAS official Sahu, Sameer Vishnoi and Saumya Chaurasiya, the then deputy secretary at Chhattisgarh CMO during the regime of the previous government under Congress.
According to the reports, the fresh FIRs have been filed under the provisions of Prevention of Corruption Act on charges of accumulating assets beyond one’s capacity. The case against Chaurasiya reportedly pertains to procurement of 29 properties categorised as immovable assets worth over 9 crores by Chaurasiya and her family members between 2021 and 2022.
Similar charges of acquiring properties worth Rs 4 crores by Sahu and her family members are under scrutiny by the agency which were acquired within the years of her service.
Further, suspended IAS and accused Vishnoi has also been charged with similar accusations of raising properties worth Rs 5 crore on his wife name which is much higher than his regular income indicating earning from dubious sources.
Turning down of Chaurasiya’s bail plea
It is worth mentioning here that a special court of Raipur on June 27 had also rejected bail petition of Saumya Chaurasiya. She had moved a bail petition citing her daughter health status and had also attached a copy of latter’s medical report before the court, the special court however denied her a bail after hearing arguments of both the parties.
Chaurasiya was arrested into the alleged scam worth Rs 540 crores in December, 2022 and was kept in judicial custody since then. Recently, the EOW had also grilled her and recorded her statement in connection with the case.
She had also filed a bail plea before the Supreme Court in December last year, however the apex court while rejecting her bail plea had imposed a fine of Rs one lakh on her for presenting wrong facts before the court.
Significantly, of late the EOW has intensified its investigation into the case and the agency has also made a number of arrests including the Jaiswal brothers Hemant and Chandra Prakash on charges of collecting levy on behalf of suspected kingpin Suryakant Tiwari.
Alleged Coal Levy Scam
Notably, ED began its probe into the matter in October 2022 and claimed to unearth a multi-crore 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.
Read more at: EOW intensifies probe into alleged coal scam worth Rs 540 crores
ED alleged that the amendments made to induce a mandatory No Objection Certificate (NOC) by the district magistrate for the coal transporters led Suryakant Tiwari, the main kingpin to smoothly operate the extortion racket under which an extortion money of Rs25 per metric ton was fixed for the transporters and coal businessmen to acquire the said certificate.
Based on ED’s investigation the EOW had also registered a case against as many as 35 accused including Saumya Chaurasia, IAS, Ranu Sahu, Sameer Vishnoi, Suryakant Tiwari, former minister and Congress leader, Amarjit Bhagat, Congress MLA, Devendra Yadav, former MLA Chandrika Prasad Rai and others in connection with the case in January this year.
As of now many of the accused including kingpin Suryakant Tiwari, his uncle Lakshmikant Tiwari, Nikhil Chandrakar, Sunil Nayak, suspended Deputy Director of Mining Department, Shivshankar Nag, IAS Ranu Sahu, IAS Sameer Vishnoi, State Administrative Service official, Saumya Chaurasiya and others are in custody of the agencies in connection with the case.
