₹500 crore collected through Chhattisgarh illegal coal levy in 16 months: ED

Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel has questioned why the ED did not investigate corruption during the Raman Singh-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

RAIPUR: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged that Chhattisgarh-based businessman Suryakant Tiwari collected an illegal coal levy of “ ₹500 crore in 16 months” with the help of government officials. An illegal levy of ₹25 per tonne was charged for transporting coal, the federal investigation agency has claimed, adding that a part of the proceeds was used for “election funding and bribing officers”.

ED’s 12-page request for custody of the three accused said the “extortion syndicate” was run as a well-planned conspiracy in Chhattisgarh (ED/Twitter)

In its application seeking remand of three persons — IAS officer Sameer Vishnoi, businessmen Sunil Agrawal, who owns the Indermani Group, and Laxmikant Tiwari, uncle of absconding businessman Suryakant Tiwari -- on Thursday, ED detailed what it said was the purported modus operandi of how the levy was collected through a “network of agents” in coal mines with help from the administration.

The three accused were remanded in ED custody for eight days.

ED’s 12-page request for custody of the three accused said the “extortion syndicate” was run as a well-planned conspiracy and delivery orders (DOs), needed for a truck carrying coal to leave a mine, were issued only after the illegal levy was paid.

It said the money was being used to “bribe government servants and politicians” and added that parts of this money were being used to “finance election expenditure”. ED did not name any political party.

Reacting to ED action, Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday questioned why the ED did not investigate corruption during the Raman Singh-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government.

“The raids are to destabilise non-BJP governments. ED raids are going on in every state where the BJP is not in power,” Baghel said.

Citing its initial investigation, ED said a large part of the money collected via illegal levy was channelled through layered transactions “to project it as untainted money and brought into the mainstream of the society by investing the same to acquire properties and coal washeries, etc,” ED said.

On IAS officer Vishnoi, ED claimed that he issued an order to change the pre-existing online process of obtaining coal transportation permits manually, thereby enabling illegal levies.

ED said the income tax department found a diary during its raid at the residence of Rajnikant Tiwari, a relative of Suryakant Tiwari, which mentioned that ₹50 lakh was deposited in the name of Vishnoi through one Roshan Kumar Singh on March 9. “It is clear that Vishnoi is also part of the conspiracy hatched for the illegal levy of coal,” the ED alleged.

Vishnoi’s advocate Syed Zeeshan, however, refuted the claims and said, “Firstly, my client did everything as director of the Geology and Mining Department in compliance with the law and therefore there is nothing illegal. Secondly, he was not connected with any accused related to any crime which is stated by the ED”.

ED also alleged that a systematic syndicate of cash collectors was set up by Suryakant Tiwari who had access to the offices of district magistrates.

No miner/transporter could obtain the NOC (mandated by Vishnoi’s orders) until they paid the money to these cash collectors and the collectors relayed “money received” messages to the mining section of collector’s offices, ED said.

Lawyer Vijay Agarwal, who defended Sunil Agrawal in court on Thursday, told the media that the ED was talking about some uncounted cash and said it was the job of the income tax department to deal with such offences.