Team News Riveting
Raipur, November 11
A special court on Friday rejected the bail plea of suspended Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of Chhattisgarh Sameer Vishnoi and three others arrested in coal scam and money laundering case.
The special court of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) of Ajay Singh Rajput sent the 2009-batch IAS officer and three others in judicial custody for 12 days. They would now be produced on November 23.
Vishnoi was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case along with businessman Sunil Agrawal of the Indramani group and one Laxmikant Tiwari on October 13. Laxmikant is uncle of Suryakant Tiwari, whom the ED claimed to be the kingpin of the scam. Suryakant had surrendered before the court on October 29.
The economic intelligence agency had sought custodial remand of Suryakant Tiwari that court refused and sent him to judicial custody. All four are put in the Raipur Central Jail.
The state government had suspended Vishnoi on October 27, two weeks after his arrest.
Vishnoi, an alumnus of IIT Kanpur, is currently posted as the CEO of the Chhattisgarh Infotech Promotion Society. He is also the ex-officio Joint Secretary of Electronics and Information Technology and Director, Geology, and had held the Mining department besides working as MD, Chhattisgarh State Minerals Development Corporation.
The bail plea of the IAS officer, from whose residence ED claimed to have seized four kg gold and Rs 47 lakh cash besides diamond, would come up for order on Friday. Vishnoi and other two had applied for bail. The three were later sent to jail in one day judicial custody.
The accused had also sought house arrest in case the regular bail was rejected. The ED lawyers cited the seriousness of the case and strongly opposed the bail.
In the court premises, Suryakant Tiwari said his life is under threat though he did not respond whether it is from the ED or from the state government.
