Bhupesh Baghel's Deputy Secretary Saumya Chaurasia arrested by ED in Money Laundering case

The Enforcememt Directorate today arrested Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel's Deputy Secretary Saumya Chaurasia in a money laundering case. 

Saumya Chaurasia had made headlines in the month of July this year, when IT had seized “undisclosed” cash and jewellery worth Rs 14 crore and detected tax evasion of a “few hundreds of crores”,

The IT department action had come after a raid on a Chhattisgarh-based group, engaged in coal transportation and linked businesses.

The searches, in the month of July, were launched on June 30 and more than 30 locations in Raipur, Bhilai, Raigarh, Korba, Bilaspur and Surajpur were covered, apart from the premises of the officer.

The CBDT had said in a statement, without identifying the group, that the business entity indulged in “unfair regular collection on coal transportation throughout the state of Chhattisgarh leading to generation of huge unaccounted income”.

“Evidence of such collection of more than Rs 200 crore during a short time period has been found. The same has been corroborated by the key trusted associates of the group,” it said.

The statement added that sleuths have found “instances of certain cash payments made to government officials”.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) frames policy for the I-T department.

A senior state police official had told PTI on June 30 that the residence of Soumya Chaurasia, a deputy secretary-rank officer posted in the Chief Minister’s Office, was also searched by tax sleuths in Bhilai town of Durg district, apart from that of some businessmen. news agency PTI had reported