A Raipur businessman in the construction sector, Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the District Mining Fund (DMF) scam. He was presented in the ED court on Thursday evening and has been remanded for four days. ED officials are currently interrogating him.
Suspended IAS officer Ranu Sahu, linked to the DMF case, is also in custody regarding irregularities in the Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC) recruitment. Preliminary investigations reveal a similar pattern of fraudulent money transactions in both scams. In the DMF case, government funds were misappropriated through Dwivedi’s organization, while in the CGPSC case, businessman Shravan Goyal allegedly paid money to an NGO run by the wife of IAS Taman Sonwani, from which relatives of Goyal were appointed to government positions.
Based on a report from the Enforcement Directorate, the Economic Offenses Wing (EOW) has registered a case under Sections 120B and 420 against several individuals. Investigations reveal significant financial irregularities in tender allocations from the District Mining Fund in Korba, with illegal benefits provided to tender applicants.
The inquiry found that government officials received up to 40% in commissions related to these tenders, with an additional 15-20% taken from tenders of private companies, the sources said.
During the investigation ED found that several bureaucrats including suspended IAS Ranu Sahu abused their positions for personal gain, the sources said.
