Raigarh (Chhattisgarh): IAS officer and Raigarh Collector Ranu Sahu, who is under the scanner of the Enforcement Directorate, has assured to cooperate with the ED officials in the money laundering case. Already, IAS officer Sameer Vishnoi and two other people have been arrested by the probe agency while Ranu Sahu was not available at her house when the ED officials arrived to conduct searches.
Ranu Sahu has now told the ED that she was in Hyderabad for treatment and will be available in connection with the probe as soon as she is back in Raigarh. Sahu was not in the State when the ED launched raids at multiple locations in Chhattisgarh on October 11 in the money laundering case. A purported nexus of government officials, businessmen and private entities were allegedly involved in illegal levy extorted from transporters in the state.
The ED officials also raided Ranu Sahu's house on Monday and sealed her residence as she was not available for questioning at that time.
Also read: Chhattisgarh: ED arrests IAS officer, 2 others in money laundering case
It may be recalled that the Enforcement Directorate on Thursday arrested IAS officer Sameer Vishnoi and two other people in its raids. Businessman Sunil Agrawal of Indramani group and Laxmikant Tiwari, uncle of "absconding" businessman Suryakant Tiwari, have been taken into custody from Raipur, sources said.
The three arrested have been charged under criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and will be produced before a local court, where the ED is expected to seek further custody. The ED officials are staying at Sayaji Hotel in the capital. According to sources, ED Director Sanjay Kumar Mishra, Joint Director Yogesh Sharma and Abhishek Goyal have reached Raipur and have made Sayaji Hotel the agency's war room for taking the probe further.
Ranu Sahu, a 2010 batch IAS officer from Gariaband, was first selected for the State Police Service and later qualified for the IAS in 2010. She has worked in many districts of the state. Raigarh is her fourth posting.
