IAS officer Sameer Vishnoi has now been sent to ED custody for three days for his alleged role in the coal scam after the Enforcement Directorate recovered Rs. 6.5 crore ‘unaccounted cash’ during its raids.
The federal probe agency tweeted, “ED has conducted search operations and seized approx Rs 6.5 Crore in the form of unaccounted cash, gold & bullion, etc. Special Court, PMLA, Raipur has granted Custody of 3 persons (including 1 IAS officer) arrested by ED for 8 days till 21.10.2022 under PMLA in a coal scam case.”
The ED shared photos of its recovery during the raids showing how a huge amount of cash was hidden at various places by the accused. The agency used the cash to write ‘ED.’ The agency also arrested businessmen Sunil Agrawal and Lakshmi Kant.
ED has conducted search operations and seized approx Rs 6.5 Crore in the form of unaccounted cash, gold & bullion, etc. Special Court, PMLA, Raipur has granted Custody of 3 persons (including 1 IAS officer) arrested by ED for 8 days till 21.10.2022 under PMLA in a coal scam case. pic.twitter.com/u0wAXoQ4zD
— ED (@dir_ed) October 14, 2022
Who Is IAS officer Sameer Vishnoi?
Reacting to ED raids and the arrest of IAS officer Sameer Vishnoi evoked angry reactions from Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel. The Chhattisgarh CM said that the Centre’s BJP government must not misuse the agencies for political mileage or to defame the state government, its officials and politicians.
Vishnoi is a 2009-batch IAS officer and has been recently posted as CEO of Chhattisgarh Infotech Promotion Society (Chips). He was questioned by the ED on Wednesday the agency took him into its custody.
39-year-old Vishnoi hails from Uttar Pradesh and completed his education from IIT Kanpur in 2005 before cracking the UPSC exams four years later. Previously, he also held posts of Joint Secretary of Electronics and Information Technology, Director of Geology and Mining and the Managing Director of the Chhattisgarh State Minerals Development Corporation among others.
Vishnoi’s bio on Linkedin reads, “Finds fun in achieving hard targets within time, believes in optimisation of resources and team work in attainment of goal.”
Another IAS Officer Under Scanner
The ED is also probing the role of another IAS officer Ranu Sahu, who’s currently posted as the District Collector of Raigarh. The agency had reportedly sealed her Raigarh residence after she was allegedly found during the raids. However, Sahu has written to the ED saying that she had gone to Hyderabad for a medical emergency and would fully cooperate with the financial probe agency.