From Our Bureau
NEW DELHI: In a seemingly obviously vindictive action just four days prior to the scheduled AICC session in Chhattisgarh’s state capital of Raipur, the Enforcement Directorate on Monday conducted searches at multiple locations in the state, including premises linked to Congress leaders busy with preparations of the Congress plenary.
While officials claimed raids as part of an ongoing investigation into the coal levy money laundering case, timing of the raid makes it more than clear that action by the central agency controlled by the Ministry of Finance has been taken to harass and create hurdles in the preparation of the AICC session.
Chhattisgarh is a Congress ruled state and is headed by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel.
Over a dozen locations are being searched, including the premises linked to Congress leaders and some MLAs, official sources said.
They said the ED is investigating those who have been the beneficiaries of the proceeds of crime of the alleged coal levy scam perpetrated during the tenure of the current government.
The ED 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.
