New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday arrested IAS officer Ranu Sahu in the District Mineral Fund (DMF) scam of Chhattisgarh.
ED's Raipur-based unit arrested Sahu two days after it arrested another woman officer of the Chhattisgarh government, Maya Varier, in the same case. A special court has ordered the ED custody of the two officers till October 22.
As per the ED, both the officers are prime accused in the DMF scam.
ED initiated the investigation based on three different First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by Chhattisgarh Police under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 for siphoning off of the exchequer money by DMF contractors in collusion with officials of the state government and political executives.
This case is related to corruption and misuse of funds from the District Mineral Fund in Chhattisgarh. DMF is a trust funded by miners that has been set up in all districts of Chhattisgarh to work for the benefit of those affected by mining-related projects and activities.
Sahu was the then district collector of Chhattisgarh' Korba district from May 2021 to June 2022 and Maya Varier was the then Assistant Commissioner of Tribal Development Department, Korba, from August 2021 to March 2023. "During their (both Sahu and Varier) tenure in Korba, an organised system of collection of illegal commission from the vendors and contractors was being operated," said the ED.
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ED investigation revealed that the "contractors have paid huge amounts in commission and illegal gratification to officials, which is to the tune of 25 per cent to 40 per cent of the contract value."
"Cash used for payment of kickbacks was generated by the vendors and contractors using accommodation entries," said the agency.
There is no quantification of 'Proceeds of Crime' in the FIRs. However, ED investigation revealed that the DMF Fund allocated only to district Korba is more than Rs 1,000 crore from its inception till Financial Year 2022-23 and with the prevalent rate of commission, commission amount alone in Korba is to the tune of hundreds of crore.
Earlier, ED's Raipur unit had carried out search operations in the case of government officers, vendors, contractors and accommodation entry providers in various locations in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra linked to the DMF scam which resulted in the seizure of incriminating documents, digital evidence, cash and bank balance and jewellery amounting to Rs 2.32 crore.
—ANI