Raipur
The EOW team brought IAS officer Ranu Sahu and SAS officer Soumya Chaurasia to the Raipur Court on Monday. The court has again sent the two officers to EOW remand until June 3. Suspended IAS officer Ranu Sahu and former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel’s deputy secretary, Soumya Chaurasia, will be interrogated by EOW until June 3.
Both officers had previously been on a 4-day remand. Meanwhile, Soumya, who is jailed in the coal scam and money laundering case, has not received any relief from the High Court. The High Court refused interim relief on Soumya’s bail application, issuing a notice to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for a response. The next hearing is scheduled after the summer vacation on June 10.
Advocates Harshvardhan Parghania and a Supreme Court advocate from Delhi represented Soumya Chaurasia, requesting bail based on her need to care for her children. However, Justice NK Vyas denied interim relief and issued a notice to the ED for a response.
Suspended IAS officers Ranu Sahu and Soumya Chaurasia remain in jail. The EOW has previously questioned Ranu Sahu’s brother, Piyush Sahu, and another relative, Anurag Chaurasia, regarding land-related documents. The EOW had information suggesting that funds from the coal scam were used by Piyush Sahu to purchase various properties.
Soumya Chaurasia, once a powerful and influential officer during the previous Congress government, was arrested by the ED on December 2, 2022, in the coal scam and money laundering case. She has been in Raipur Central Jail since then. Previously, the Supreme Court had rejected Soumya’s bail plea in the coal scam and money laundering case, imposing a fine of one lakh rupees for presenting incorrect facts. Similarly, her bail plea was dismissed by the Raipur Special Court on April 16.
After investigating in Chhattisgarh, the ED revealed a 540-crore coal levy scam. Besides IAS officer Ranu Sahu, IAS officers Sameer Vishnoi, Soumya Chaurasia, JD Mining’s SS Nag, and businessman Suryakant Tiwari were arrested. Congress leaders and some businessmen were also under ED’s scrutiny, with documents seized from their residences. The ED is investigating the illegal coal transportation case involving a commission of 25 rupees per ton collected by a syndicate. So far, the ED has attached properties worth 222 crores in connection with the coal scam, and the investigation continues. The ACB-EOW registered the case based on the ED’s report, and the EOW is also investigating the matter.
