Dispatch News.
Two Congress MLAs have been implicated in the coal scam. Devendra Yadav and Chandradev Rai, both serving as MLAs, were named as accused in the charge sheet presented on Friday. Ranu Sahu also faced charges in the Raipur court. The comprehensive charge sheet, comprising 280 pages, was accompanied by a submission of 5,456 documents. A total of 11 individuals are accused in the case.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has asserted that the coal case recovery was a collaborative effort involving government officials and politicians. Simultaneously, a hearing took place in the Bilaspur High Court on the same day, wherein the ED requested the transfer of the coal case investigation to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
The hearing for the ED’s plea for a CBI inquiry is the following week. Notably, the previous week, the ED had sought a similar CBI investigation into the liquor scam case.
In the Raipur court, the ED presented a charge sheet against suspended IAS officer Ranu Sahu before Special Judge Ajay Singh Rajput on Friday. The prosecution complaint names 11 individuals as accused, including Bhilai MLA Devendra Yadav and Bilaigarh MLA Chandradevrai.
Apart from Ranu Sahu, the accused individuals encompass Nikhil Chandrakar, Vinod Tiwari, Devendra Yadav, Chandradev Rai, RP Singh, Roshan Singh, Piyush Sahu, Navneet Tiwari, Manish Upadhyay, and Narayan Sahu. Among these, Narayan Sahu and Piyush Sahu are affiliated with Suryakant Tiwari. Only Ranu Sahu and Nikhil Chandrakar have been arrested, with the remaining two yet to be apprehended. It is worth noting that the legal representatives of these accused individuals are pursuing bail options.
In connection with the Rs 550 crore coal scam, more than six individuals, including IAS officer Sameer Vishnoi, JD Mining SS Nag, and coal tycoon Suryakant Tiwari, were detained by the ED. All of them are currently in custody on judicial remand.
The ED’s diligent efforts have repeatedly exposed the coal scam in Chhattisgarh. According to the ED’s findings, an unlawful levy of Rs 25 per tonne was imposed on coal transportation within the state. This complex case involves state officials, business figures, and politicians. The ED has established that over the past two years, an illicit sum of about Rs 550 crore was accumulated through unauthorised means.
