Soumya Chaurasia’s bail plea rejected Former CM’s secretary has been in jail for 16 months; accused in coal scam

Raipur
The bail plea of Soumya Chaurasia, the former Chief Minister’s secretary, has been rejected. The special court in Raipur pronounced its decision on Tuesday on her second bail application. Chaurasia, the former CM’s secretary, has been in jail for 16 months due to the coal scam.
On April 12, a hearing was held on the second bail application of Chaurasia, a state service officer. Following this, the court reserved its decision. Today, her plea has been rejected.
Chaurasia’s lawyer, Kailash Bhaduri, had sought bail based on childcare. Meanwhile, special public prosecutor Saurabh Pandey from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) was representing the case.
Chaurasia has been in jail since December 2, 2022.
During the previous Congress government, Chaurasia, a powerful and influential officer, was arrested by the ED on December 2, 2022, in connection with the coal scam and money laundering cases. Since then, she has been incarcerated in the Central Jail in Raipur.
Earlier, in the coal scam and money laundering cases, the Supreme Court had rejected her bail plea, imposing a fine of one lakh rupees for presenting false facts. Similarly, the bail plea filed by Chaurasia in the Bilaspur High Court has also been dismissed.
IAS Ranu Sahu and Chaurasia have been suspended for a long time in the coal levy case.
The Directorate of Enforcement had initiated an investigation into the alleged illegal mining of Rs 500 crore in Chhattisgarh. Subsequently, a money laundering case was registered. Changes were made in the rules for collection. According to the ED, businessman Suryakant Tiwari was involved in this scam through Chaurasia.
In this case, the ED had arrested several people, including Congress leader Suryakant Tiwari, coal washer Sunil Agrawal, IAS Sameer Vishnoi, IAS Ranu Sahu, Soumya Chaurasia, and others on different dates. The ED has alleged that this scam was worth around 500 crore rupees. The proceeds from this levy were used to acquire movable and immovable properties, many of which are unaccounted.
After the ED’s report, the EOW is investigating the coal scam case. EOW has registered an FIR against 36 people in this case. In this matter, the EOW team of Raipur has already questioned suspended officers Soumya Chaurasia and IAS Ranu Sahu in the central jail.
After questioning both the accused in the coal levy case for three days, several important pieces of information have been obtained. Soon, other people related to this case could also be questioned.
Property worth Rs 222 crore has reportedly been attached, and the investigation into the entire case is ongoing.
The Directorate of Enforcement had also filed a complaint with the ACB, considering it a major economic crime in the state, besides money laundering.
Four months ago, Chaurasia’s bail plea was also rejected by the Supreme Court. Along with this, the Supreme Court has also imposed a fine of one lakh rupees on her for presenting false facts.