Raids: Congress workers protest outside ED office in Raipur

Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], February 20 (ANI): Youth Congress and NSUI workers on Monday staged a demonstration in front of the office of the Enforcement Directorate in Raipur against the raids conducted by the agency at the premises of several Congress leaders in the state as part of an ongoing investigation into the coal levy money laundering case.
Amid the strong deployment of police and the personnel of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the members of the Youth Congress and NSUI staged a protest outside the office of ED in the backdrop of raids at the residents of Congress leaders.

Terming the ED raids as unfortunate and politically motivated, NSUI president of Raipur unit Shantanu Jha alleged that BJP is worried by the rising popularity and progress of Congress in the state and due to this nervousness it is doing such acts.
"ED has conducted raids at the addresses of Congress leaders and MLAs. The agency might have lost its way, they have raided the addresses of Adani and Ambani," Jha said.
Security personnel resorted to a mild force as hundreds of agitating workers bid to climb the barricades placed at the premise wherein the office of ED is located.
Somehow, the security personnel managed to control the agitators shouting slogans against the Central government.
Jha further said that party workers came to the gherao office of the central agency to register their protest against the ED action.
The raids by the federal agency came ahead of the three-day plenary session of the Congress from February 24 in Raipur.
Among the places searched on Monday were residential and office addresses of Congress leaders Ram Gopal Agarwal, Girish Devangan, RP Singh, Vinod Tiwari and Sunny Agrawal, said sources.
Last month, the ED had also raided multiple locations in Chhattisgarh, including that of an IAS officer, and other locations in connection with the ongoing money laundering probe into the alleged scam.
The federal investigation agency launched a probe in October last year after it raided another IAS officer of the state, Sameer Vishnoi, and some businessmen.
Sameer Vishnoi IAS Officer of 2009 Batch and his wife were found to be in possession of Rs 47 lakh in unaccounted cash and 4 kg gold jewellery.
"The investigation relates to "a massive scam in which illegal levy of Rs 25 was being extorted for every tonne of coal transported in Chhattisgarh by a cartel involving senior bureaucrats, businessmen, politicians and middlemen", the agency alleged.
The ED had earlier claimed that Chaurasia, Vishnoi and some coal traders allegedly linked to them "used" their relatives to create "benami" assets after it attached their properties worth more than Rs 150 crore in December, last year.
The agency alleged further that a "grand conspiracy" was hatched in the resource-rich state to perpetrate a coal levy 'scam' as part of which Rs 540 crore was "extorted" over the last two years.
The investigation relates to "a massive scam in which illegal levy of Rs 25 was being extorted for every tonne of coal transported in Chhattisgarh by a cartel involving senior bureaucrats, businessmen, politicians and middlemen", the agency has alleged.
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel's deputy secretary Saumya Chaurasia, Vishnoi, coal trader and alleged "main kingpin of the scam" Suryakant Tiwari, his uncle Laxmikant Tiwari and another coal businessman Sunil Agrawal have been arrested in this case till now.
The money laundering case stems from an Income Tax department complaint registered following raids by the taxman in June 2022. (ANI)