ED raids: Congress workers clash with CRPF personnel

Hundreds of Youth Congress and NSUI workers clashed with the CRPF personnel guarding the ED office in the capital Raipur on Monday. The jawans had to resort to lathi-charge to disperse the enraged Congress workers who were protesting the ongoing ED raids on eight Congress leaders considered close to Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.

The Congress has termed the fresh spell of raids as part of the BJP’s efforts to disturb its plenary session scheduled to begin on 24 February. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel has vowed to fight back the alleged BJP designs to malign the Congress government in the state.

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Protesters were led by Congress MLA Vikas Upadhyay and Raipur Mayor Ejaz Dhebar, whose brother Anwar Dhebar is also under the scanner of ED and I-T for his alleged role in the extortion in coal transport and out of book liquor sale.

Former Chief Minister Raman Singh said that Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and TS Singh Deo had demanded an inquiry into the PDS scam when they were not in power. But now the key accused in the PDS scam are being defended by Baghel with a battery of top lawyers advocating their case, he said.