Chhattisgarh ACB-EOW Raids 20 Locations In DMF, Excise Scams

Raipur/Durg/Jagdalpur/Dhamtari: In a probe into the alleged District Mineral Foundation (DMF) and excise scams, the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) conducted simultaneous raids across more than 20 locations in Chhattisgarh on Sunday.

Teams are currently examining the documents recovered during the raids, which began early this morning in Raipur, Durg, Surguja, Ambikapur, Dhamtari, and Jagdalpur.

According to sources, the ACB-EOW teams searched the residence of former Bhilai Municipal Corporation Commissioner, Niranjan Das in Nehru Nagar in connection with the alleged excise scam. Raids have been conducted here twice before.

Teams arrived in two vehicles and sealed a house in Jagdalpur. According to preliminary information, this house belongs to Das, who had retired from excise department. The teams have also raided the houses of his relatives. They examined some documents found at the residence of Das's brother, Chittaranjan Das, located in Maitri Sangh. Retired IAS officer Das, the then commissioner of the state excise department, is being accused in the excise scam. The details of the findings will be clear after the investigation is completed, sources said.

In a raid linked to the alleged DMF scam, the teams searched the house of Ketan Doshi, a real estate businessman and great-grandson of former Dhamtari Congress MLA Jaya Behan Doshi. A team of 10 officers is involved in this operation, which took place in Mahalaxmi Green Colony in Dhamtari city.

The EOW team also raided several premises, including Raipur, belonging to Harpal Arora, a businessman and key accused in the DMF scam. The house and office of Bilaspur businessman Ashok Tuteja, veterinarian Dr Tanveer Ahmed and supplier Amit Agarwal in Surguja were also raided. The ACB-EOW teams searched the home and offices of businessman Konark Jain in Kondagaon. Jain was involved in DMF supply operations during 2019-20. The team is examining all the documents and contract records.

Earlier on October 29, the ACB-EOW raided 14 locations as part of the alleged DMF scam investigation. The houses of Ashok and Amit Kothari in Wallfort Enclave, Pachpedi Naka, Raipur, were also raided. Both of them are involved in the business of agricultural raw materials and food products.

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