Raipur. ACB/EOW raided 24 places today in the disproportionate assets case. The team searched the locations of suspended IAS Sameer Bishnoi, Ranu Sahu and State Administrative Service officer Saumya Chaurasia. Documents related to immovable properties have been recovered from the locations of these accused, which have revealed a large amount of benami properties. Many electronic devices like laptops, mobiles and pen drives have also been recovered, which contain information about properties. At the same time, the main accused Manish Upadhyay, who was absconding for a long time in the coal levy case, was arrested by the EOW and presented in the court. The court has handed over the accused Manish to the Bureau on police remand till 23 August 2024.
ACB/EOW said, in the case of Saumya Chaurasia, then Deputy Secretary, Chief Minister’s Office, Chhattisgarh Government, Sameer Vishnoi, then Director, Directorate of Geology and Mining, Nava Raipur, Ranu Sahu (IAS), then Collector, Korba, the Bureau’s team today conducted raids and searches at 2 locations each in Rajasthan and Raigarh, 1 location each in Bangalore, Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), Korba, Gariaband, 3 locations in Mahasamund, 8 locations in Durg and 5 locations in Raipur, thus totaling 24 locations. All the cases are related to disproportionate assets acquisition (Section 13 (1) (B), 13 (2) Prevention of Corruption Act). Documents related to immovable properties have been recovered in the proceedings so far, which have revealed a large amount of benami properties. Many documents related to vehicles and many electronic devices like laptops, mobiles and pen drives have also been recovered, which contain information about properties. Documents and electronic equipment are being examined.
Manish Upadhyay who was absconding for a long time has been arrested
Accused Manish Upadhyay has been arrested from Bhilai in the illegal coal levy case. ACB/EOW said, the main accused Manish Upadhyay father Gendalal Upadhyay Bhilai in the illegal coal levy case was duly arrested and presented before the Special Court, Raipur today. The court has handed over the accused Manish to the Bureau on police remand till 23 August 2024. Let us tell you that accused Manish was absconding for a long time. There is a possibility of new facts being revealed on interrogation.
Soumya got Manish a flat
According to the information received, it was Saumya who got Manish the flat. Manish used to do the money transactions through Saumya Chaurasia, but after the ED raid, Manish Upadhyay was absconding from his house, who has now been caught by the EOW. Apart from this, the team has also taken action at the residence of Anil Kumar Pathak, a hotelier and allegedly close to IAS, IPS posted in the state, located in Nehru Nagar East. Anil Kumar Pathak is the owner of Hotel Happy Hours in Nehru Nagar. He has been accused of involvement in the coal scam case. During searches at several places of Anil Kumar Pathak, property documents and documents related to jewellery and cash have also been recovered. After this raid, the ACB team left Anil Kumar Pathak’s residence at around 7 pm.
