The Enforcement Directorate on Friday arrested Chhattisgarh chief minister’s deputy secretary Saumya Chaurasia for her alleged involvement in an illegal mining case, ANI reported
The central agency’s money laundering investigation, based on a complaint by the income tax department, is linked to an alleged scam in which an illegal levy of Rs 25 per tonne had been extorted from every tonne of coal transported in Chhattisgarh by senior bureaucrats, businessmen, politicians and middlemen.
Chaurasia has been accused of meddling with Rs 150 crore, the Hindustan Times reported.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel on Friday said that Chaurasia’s arrest was a political act.
“We will fight against it with all our might,” Baghel wrote on Twitter.
Chaurasia’s Bhilai home was searched in the case for the first time in February 2020. It had prompted Baghel to write an angry letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which he described the raids as unconstitutional.
He had also alleged that the raids coincided with a criminal investigation initiated by his government into previous BJP’s government alleged corrupt acts.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!