ED arrests Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel's deputy secy Saumya Chaurasia in money laundering case

Saumya Chaurasia has been sent to four-day ED custody after her arrest.

Escorted by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), she was then taken to a local court.

The ED in October arrested Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Sameer Vishnoi and two others after conducting raids in the case.

The money laundering investigation, launched after the ED took cognizance of a complaint by the income tax department, is linked to an alleged scam in which an illegal levy of Rs. 25 per tonne that had been extorted from every tonne of coal transported in Chhattisgarh by a cartel involving senior bureaucrats, businessmen, politicians and middlemen, said reports.

Chaurasia's home was also raided in February 2020. The chief minister had called the raid by the central agency a "political revenge" and claimed there was an attempt to "destabilise" his government.

Last week, Baghel alleged in tweets that the ED and income tax officers thrashed detained businessmen and officers with rods.

"We have come to know about incidents of detaining people without informing local police, serving them summons on the spot, making them sit in murga position, stopping them without food and water till late night, beating them with rods, threatening them with imprisoning them for life by ED officials," the Chief Minister had said.

He said the ED officials should make video recordings during interrogations.