ED arrests IAS officer Ranu Sahu in alleged ‘coal levy case’ in Chhattisgarh

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday arrested Chhattisgarh IAS officer Rana Sahu, a day after the central agency raided her premises as part of an investigation into a money laundering case, officials said.  Ranu Sahu, a 2010 batch Chhattisgarh cadre IAS officer, is currently the director of the state's agriculture department.

On Friday, the ED conducted searches at the premises of an IAS officer, a senior Congress politician, and contractors in Raipur, Bilaspur, and Korba districts in connection with a money laundering case.

Rana Sahu was arrested in connection with the coal tax case and the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering) court in Raipur remanded her to the investigative agency's custody for three days, ED lawyer Saurabh Pandey said. Sahu previously served as Collector in Korba and Raigarh districts, both known for their coal reserves.

Notably, Sahu is the second IAS officer in the state to be arrested in connection with the case after 2009 IAS officer Sameer Vishnoi was arrested last year. The central agency had earlier raided Sahu's residence in Raipur and also seized her property during its earlier probe into the alleged coal levy scam.

In its statement, the ED alleged that there is a "massive fraud" in the transportation of coal in Chhattisgarh, under which a "cartel" of politicians, officers, and others allegedly runs a "parallel system of collection of illegal dues" generating about Rs 2-3 crore daily. The investigating agency claimed that “the main ringleader of this criminal scam who has come across the criminal con man Tiwariy is Surspiry. violations of illegal coal tax and carried out illegal and unaccounted cash movements”.

In December 2022, the ED arrested Deputy Secretary to the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Saumya Chaurasia in connection with a money laundering case, claiming that Chaurasia's WhatsApp chats obtained by the Income Tax Department revealed that she had shared all confidential information of the government with the Tiwari monarch, who was not even attached to her office for any official work.