Bail Plea of IAS Officer Vishnoi and Other Businessmen Rejected

RAIPUR: The court headed ADJ Ajay Singh Rajput on Wednesday rejected the bail plea of IAS officer Sameer Vishnoi and businessmen Sunil Tiwari, Laksmikant Tiwari, and Sunil Agarwal extending their juducial custody another 14 days. It has posted the matter for hearing on coal mining scam for December 6th.
This is the third time the court has sent the accused in connection to a coal mining scam into judicial custody. Sameer Vishnoi, coal trader Sunil Agrawal, and Laxmikant Tiwari were earlier produced in the court of Addition Sessions Judge today on October 27th on completing 14-day custody of ED. The court sent them to 14-day judicial custody. ED which is the prosecuting agency did not oppose their judicial custody, however, it opposed Sunil Agrawal’s plea to allow him to transfer power of attorney to his wife.
The federal agency has seized 4 kg gold, 20-carat diamond, and Rs. 47 lakh cash from Vishnoi’s house who is posted as Chief Executive Officer of Chhattisgarh Infotech Promotion Society. Coal trader Laxmikant Tiwari is a close family member of Suryakant Tiwari whose residential and commercial premises were also raided in July. The agency seized a huge quantity of sensitive documents related to illegal cash transactions and investments.
ED officials also grilled Chief Miner Bhupesh Baghel’s Deputy Secretary Saumya Chaurasiya, Raigarh Collector Ranu Sahu, her IAS husband JP Maurya, and others just hours before the 5 day-long Diwali celebration began on 22 on grounds of money laundering.