Raipur: A special court in Raipur on Friday extended by six days the Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody of an IAS officer and two others in a money laundering case linked to the alleged extortion of money from coal and mining transporters in Chhattisgarh. Additional district and sessions judge Ajay Singh Rajput extended the remand of IAS officer Sameer Vishnoi, businessman Sunil Agrawal and one Laxmikant Tiwari.
The alleged accused were produced before the court on the expiry of their eight-day ED custody, Tiwari's lawyer Faizal Rizvi said. The defence lawyers opposed the ED's plea of remand extension, he said. The ED, on October 13, had arrested Vishnoi, Agrawal and Tiwari, the uncle of "absconding" coal businessman Suryakant Tiwari, after it launched multi-city raids in the state on October 11.
The trio was arrested under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). As per case details, Vishnoi, a Chhattisgarh-cadre IAS officer of the 2009 batch, was working as the CEO of the Chhattisgarh Infotech Promotion Society. Laxmikant Tiwari, a lawyer from the Mahasamund district, is the uncle of coal businessman Suryakant Tiwari whose properties were also covered during searches.
The probe agency also carried out searches at Laxmikant's residence in Mahasamund town. Sunil Agrawal, the director of Indramani Group involved in coal trading, is said to be closely associated with Suryakant Tiwari. He has been in the coal business for over a decade and allegedly has links with senior politicians.
