Money laundering case: ED raids against IAS officers and politician in Chhattisgarh

Image used for representational purpose. File photo

The Enforcement Directorate on Friday conducted searches against some IAS officers and a Congress politician in Chhattisgarh as part of a money laundering investigation, official sources said.

The premises linked to Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Ranu Sahu, some other bureaucrats and Chhattisgarh Congress leader and PCC treasurer Ramgopal Agarwal were being raided, they said.

Visuals showed central paramilitary personnel outside the residences of IAS officer Sahu and Agrawal in Raipur and Korba Municipal Corporation Commissioner Prabhakar Pandey in Korba.

The action is being undertaken after the federal agency registered a fresh case under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said.

While the exact case in which the raids were being conducted was not known, sources said it could be linked to an alleged rice scam. The agency has been probing an alleged coal levy and liquor scam in the state in which it has arrested some prominent bureaucrats, including IAS officers, apart from politicians and those linked to them.

On July 18, the Supreme Court asked the agency to "stay their hand in all manner" in the alleged Rs 2,000 crore liquor scam linked money laundering case in Chhattisgarh.

In February 2023, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on called the Enforcement Directorate's raids at the premises of Congress leaders in the state a "politically motivated" move and claimed the Bharatiya Janata Party was afraid of the Congress and misusing central agencies to crush the voices of political opponents. Their intention is to impact the Congress's upcoming plenary session in Raipur where a roadmap for the 2024 general elections will be discussed, Baghel said addressing a press conference at the party's state headquarters 'Rajiv Bhawan'. AICC general secretary and state in-charge Kumari Selja, Chhattisgarh Congress chief Mohan Markam, state ministers and other party leaders were also present during the press conference.

In February, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted searches at multiple locations in Chhattisgarh, including at premises linked to Congress party leaders, as part of an ongoing investigation into the coal levy money laundering case, officials said. "Whenever the Congress takes any major step, such acts (raids by central agencies) happen. The BJP-led Centre is scared of the Congress. The BJP was nervous when the Congress took out the 'Bharat Jodo Yatra' and now they are afraid of the plenary session going to be held in Raipur," Baghel said. They have resorted to low level acts to create hindrances ahead of the conclave out of their frustration, he claimed.

(With inputs from PTI)