Chhattisgarh CM's Deputy Secretary Arrested By ED, Baghel Calls It 'Political Act'

The residence of Saumya Chaurasia, deputy secretary to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, was raided in February 2020.

The ED on Friday arrested Saumya Chaurasia, deputy secretary to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, in connection with a money laundering investigation into an alleged coal levy scam in the state, PTI reported. The agency took Chaurasia into custody under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after a round of interrogation.

A special PMLA court sent her to ED’s custody for four days. The agency had sought a 14-day custody before Additional District and Sessions Judge Ajay Singh Rajput.

Reacting to the development, Bhupesh Baghel called the arrest a "political act".

"The arrest of my Deputy Secretary Soumya Chaurasia by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) is a political act. We will fight against it with all our might," Baghel tweeted.

Last year, the Income Tax department had conducted raids in Chhattisgarh's capital Raipur and claimed to have unearthed an alleged hawala racket of over Rs 100 crore. The ED launched the probe into the money laundering angle after taking cognisance of the Income Tax department complaint.

The ED has alleged that illegal levy of Rs 25 per tonne was being extorted from every tonne of coal transported in Chhattisgarh by a cartel involving senior bureaucrats, businessmen, politicians and middlemen.

In October, ED had conducted raids at locations in Chhattisgarh for two consecutive days and recovered around Rs 4 crore. The ED team also searched the premises of three IPS officials. The agency arrested Sameer Vishnoi, an IAS officer of the state, and two others.

Last week, CM Bhupesh Baghel, while speaking to reporters, accused the ED of "crossing its limits" and treating people inhumanely in the state.

Earlier, Leader of Opposition in Chhattisgarh Assembly, Narayan Chandel, had attacked the Baghel government over the case, saying the raids by central agencies had exposed the corruption racket in the state. Chandel had said that Chhattisgarh was making an illegal recovery of Rs 25 per tonne of coal being transported in the state.

"Everyday, two to three crore rupees are being extorted. In this way, thousands of crores of rupees are being recovered and used for wrong purposes," IANS quoted Chandel as saying. He also asked the Congress government to reveal the amount of money that this corruption racket involving officials, politicians and businessmen "sends to 10 Janpath".

(With agency inputs)