The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday conducted fresh searches at nearly a dozen locations in Chhattisgarh in connection with a money laundering probe into an alleged coal levy scam in the state, ANI reported, citing sources.
The searches are underway at the residential and office premises of Congress leaders, including Ram Gopal Agarwal, Girish Devangan, RP Singh, Vinod Tiwari and Sunny Agrawal.
The raids come ahead of the three-day plenary session of the Congress from February 24-26 in the state capital Raipur.
Earlier, on January 13, the central probe agency had conducted raids at multiple locations in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Karnataka, in connection with the ongoing probe. In Chhattisgarh, searches were conducted at the state capital Raipur, Korba and Durg, reported The Indian Express.
The ED had launched an investigation in October last year following raids at the premises of 2009 batch IAS officer Sameer Vishnoi, and some businessmen.
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 had alleged.
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 so far been arrested in connection with the case.
Vishnoi and his wife were allegedly found to be in possession of Rs 47 lakh of unaccounted cash and gold jewellery of up to four kg, reported ANI.
The ED probe stems from an Income Tax department complaint that was registered following raids in June last year.