Lottery scam probe: ED seizes crores from businessman’s house
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) raided the office of a lottery company owner's office-cum-residence and discovered around Rs 3 crore during a 33-hour raid at Lake Market area.
Two months after he warned the Enforcement Directorate and Income Tax sleuths of the retaliatory action against them, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel alleged that ED and IT sleuths are beating detained officers and businessmen with rods.
Venting his ire in a series of tweets against ongoing onslaught by central agencies in the state, CM Baghel reiterated that his government will take stern action against any complaint of illegal torture of it’s people by the ED and IT. He also directed the officials to register complaints of excesses perpetrated on officials and businessmen detained by the ED.
“We have come to know about incidents of detaining people without informing local police, serving them summons on the spot, stopping them without food and water till late night, beating them with rods, threatening them with imprisoning them for life by the ED officials”, Baghel tweeted.
Demanding videography during the interrogation of detained officials by the ED, Baghel said that we fully support the action within the framework. But state Police will be compelled to take action if we receive such complaints because we are committed to protect our people, he added.
Earlier, signalling his growing impatience over the way ED and IT have been tightening their noose around some very influential officials and businessmen known for their proximity to him, Chief Minister had said in September that if anyone unnecessarily tormented by these agencies lodges complaint, stern action will be taken by the state Police.
“We are not against the Central agencies, they are welcome to operate here. If someone has committed something wrong, then Central agencies should take action against them. But they should not unnecessarily torment people”, he told media persons in his home turf Durg yesterday. He however, did not elaborate on his definition of ‘unnecessary tormenting’.
His reaction comes close on the heels of IT and ED raids against some high profile officials and businessmen this year. Similar raids were also conducted against a similar set of people in February 2020.
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