Raipur, Jan 30 (PTI) The Enforcement Directorate on Monday filed its second 'prosecution complaint' (chargesheet) in a special court in Raipur in Chhattisgarh against eight accused in the illegal coal levy case.
The ED investigation relates to an alleged 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.
Among those named in the chargesheet are Saumya Chaurasia, a deputy secretary in the Chhattisgarh chief minister's office, and coal trader Suryakant Tiwari, who, as per the probe agency, was the main kingpin.
The prosecution complaint runs into more than 5,500 pages and was filed in the court of 4th Additional District and Sessions Judge (Special Judge PMLA) Ajay Singh Rajput, said ED's counsel Saurabh Pandey.
Saumya Chaurasia, her brother Anurag Chaurasia, Suryakant Tiwari's brother Rajnikant Tiwari, his mother Kailash Tiwari, mining officers S S Nag and Sandeep Kumar Nayak, and one Rajesh Choudhary have been named as accused, Pandey informed.
The first prosecution complaint was filed in the special PMLA court in Raipur on December 9 last year.
The money laundering case stems from an Income Tax department complaint that was registered following raids in June 2022. PTI COR BNM BNM