ED probe in Chhattisgarh now extends to state politicians

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has now transfixed its eyes on the politicians close to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel for their role in coal levy extortion racket which has been hitting headlines for close to six months now.  The Central agency made this contention public in the court of Additional Sessions Judge Ajay Singh Rajput (Special Judge, PMLA) while demanding 10-day custodial remand of Chief Minister’s Deputy Secretary Saumya Chaurasia in connection with the coal transport levy extortion case on Tuesday. However, the Judge granted the ED 4 days custody of Saumya while Suryakant Tiwari, Sunil Agrawal, Laxmikant Tiwari and IAS Samir Vishnoi were also sent to 4 day judicial custody.
They were produced before the court amid heightened security with the police specifically instructed to block the media coverage of the event with millions in the state waiting with bated breath.
“She is an officer posted in the CM’s office and is known to be very close to various politicians and is influential person in the society. The role of the political executives and other senior functionaries of the Chief Minister’s Office and State bureaucracy needs to be ascertained and she (Saumya) needs to be questioned regarding their role and involvement in this extortion racket,” Special Public Prosecutor Dr. Saurabh Kumar Pandey stated while appearing for the ED.
Apprehending that by using her post and power, Saumya may try to influence the witnesses and alter the documents in government departments, the agency claimed that the witnesses in the transactions carried out by her could be threatened or influenced to to misguide the investigation.
The ED went on to claim that a large amount of cash generated out of the extorted Coal levy still shrouded in mystery due to the use of code words and evasive answers by Suryakant Tiwari, the kingpin of the entire extortion racket.
Resonating the observations made by IT sleuths in a case filed in a New Delhi court (The Statesman carried the story on November 24), ED counsel claimed that because of her position in the CM Office, Saumya Chaurasia enjoyed power and influence, far higher than her administrative experience and rank.
On one occasion, Saumya and her mentor Anil Tuteja (promotee IAS) were discussing the postings of bureaucrats, much higher than them in the government hierarchy, the IT case diary revealed on the basis of whatsApp chat recovered during IT raids in 2020.
The ED counsel alleged that Saumya Chaurasia was using Suryakant Tiwari as her shield and was using using him to receive inputs and issue instructions to District level officers. Suryakant ran an extortion syndicate and was able to coerce various government officers due to over-arching influence of Saumya Chaurasia, the agency blamed.
Kingpin Surya collected around Rs 500 crore through extortion and the money so collected was being used to fund Congress party’s election related expenditure besides being distributed to Surya, Saumya and other top officials. Surya also purportedly used to pay hefty amounts to a handful of journalists representing top news organizations on behalf of ruling dispensation.
“Saumya Chaurasia is the vital link which will help to uncover the complete conspiracy and identify all the beneficiaries of this loot,” the agency claimed.
Claiming that Saumya Chaurasia has received a large sum of illegally collected money and used the same to acquire benami properties in the name of her family members, ED sleuths have learnt to have unearthed large amounts of cash given to Saumya Chaurasia through her associate Manish Upadhyaya for land deals.