A leader of the ruling Congress party in Chhattisgarh and some officers of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) were arrested on Friday at several places. Enforcement Directorate (ED) team raided. It is being told that ED has conducted raids in money laundering case. Raids have been conducted at several places of Congress leaders and IAS officers. Official sources have given this information.
ED action going on in Raipur and Korba
Sources have told that apart from IAS officer Ranu Sahu, some other bureaucrats and Chhattisgarh Pradesh Congress Searches are being conducted at the premises linked to Ram Gopal Agarwal, the leader of the PCC and treasurer of the State Congress Committee (PCC). IAS officers Sahu and Ramgopal Agarwal in the capital Raipur and Central Paramilitary Force personnel are seen outside the residence of Prabhakar Pandey, Commissioner of Korba Municipal Corporation in Korba.
It is not clear in which case the action is being taken
It has been told from sources that this action is being taken in Chhattisgarh after the Central Investigation Agency ED registered a new case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). However, it is not yet clear in which case the ED has conducted this raid. Sources are expressing the possibility that the raid may be related to the alleged rice scam.
Many officers have been arrested in levy and liquor scam
The central probe agency ED is also probing the alleged coal levy and liquor scam in Chhattisgarh. In both these cases, it has arrested many leaders and people associated with them as well as many IAS officers and prominent bureaucrats. But the strings of this raid cannot be related to the liquor scam, because the Supreme Court has instructed the ED in this matter to maintain restraint in every way.
ED wants to implicate Bhupesh Baghel – Kapil Sibal
Let us tell you that Senior Supreme Court Advocate Kapil Sibal had said in the Supreme Court that ED officials want to implicate Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel in the liquor scam. Not only this, some officials had alleged that ED officers threaten state government officials in the name of investigation.
Court had given instructions to ED to exercise restraint
The Supreme Court then asked the ED on July 18 to “exercise all restraint” in its probe into the money laundering case related to the Rs 2,000-crore alleged liquor scam in Chhattisgarh. A bench of Justice SK Kaul and Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia gave this order during the hearing of the petition filed by two people from Chhattisgarh and some other petitions related to it.
The Supreme Court had said – do not create an atmosphere of fear
The Supreme Court bench had said that you have already been ordered that you will not take any punitive action in this matter. Earlier, on May 16, the apex court had asked the ED not to create an ‘atmosphere of fear’. The Chhattisgarh government had accused the ED of ‘working in an irregular manner’.
2000 crore black money from liquor scam
On the other hand, the Enforcement Directorate had earlier said in a court that in Chhattisgarh, senior government officers, leaders and some people made huge black money in the liquor business. The agency told the court that these people made black money of Rs 2,000 crore in three-four years.