Chhattisgarh Nagrik Apurti Nigam 'scam': ED gets 4-week custody of fmr IAS officers Tuteja, Shukla

Raipur, Sep 22 (PTI) A special court in Chhattisgarh's Raipur district on Monday sent former IAS officers Alok Shukla and Anil Tuteja to four-week Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Nagrik Apurti Nigam (NAN) scam.

After the duo surrendered before the court of Special Judge (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) Damarudhar Chouhan, they were formally arrested by the ED and were produced there.

"The special court has granted their custodial remand to the ED for four weeks. The two will be taken to Delhi for interrogation," ED's lawyer Saurabh Kumar Pande told PTI.

Last week, the Supreme Court had set aside anticipatory bail granted to Shukla and Tuteja and allowed ED to take their custody for a period of four weeks, after which both were to be released "if not required in any other case, subject to the terms and conditions that may be imposed by the trial court".

The apex court had granted the duo one week to surrender.

As per the custodial remand order, Shukla had submitted an application for surrender in the court on September 19, while an application for the surrender of Tuteja, who was in judicial custody in another case, was also submitted on his behalf same day.

The four week period started on September 19, which was the date the copy of the SC order was received by the ED. Shukla and Tuuteja will be produced in court on October 16.

Tuteja, who was arrested by the ED in a money laundering case linked to the alleged Rs 2000 crore liquor scam in Chhattisgarh in April last year and was in judicial custody, was brought on a production warrant by the ED, following which he surrendered before the court in the NAN case.

In 2019, the ED lodged an Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act based on the FIR and chargesheet filed by Chhattisgarh's Economic Offences Wing/ Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) in the civil supply scam.

The alleged NAN scam was exposed in February 2015 (during the then BJP government) when ACB/EOW had conducted simultaneous raids at 25 premises of Civil Supplies Corporation, the nodal agency for ensuring effective operation of the PDS system, and its officials.

It had seized unaccounted cash totalling Rs 3.64 crore at the time.

Many of the rice and salt samples collected during the raid were tested for their quality and were claimed to be sub-standard and unfit for human consumption.

Later, the ACB named 18 persons, including Tuteja and Shukla, who were Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers at the time, as accused in the case.

While Shukla was posted as chairman, Tuteja was the managing director in the NAN when the alleged scam was unearthed. PTI TKP BNM