ED Raids Agri-Businesses in Chhattisgarh in Connection with DMF Scam
Raipur | Correspondent: A team from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has raided the premises of three agricultural businessmen in Raipur. A raid was conducted at the residence of fertilizer businessman Vinay Garg, located in Shankar Nagar. His business is related to fertilizers. Meanwhile, investigations are underway at the homes of two businessmen in Law Vista Colony.
Officials are scrutinizing documents at the homes of agricultural equipment and pesticides suppliers Pawan Poddar and Satpal Chhabada. Additionally, raids have also been conducted in Durg-Bhilai. The ED's action is linked to the DMF scam.
Raids have been carried out in the Vasundhara Nagar and Shanti Nagar areas of Bhilai-3. In Vasundhara Nagar, raids are ongoing at the office and premises of Anna Agro Tech Private Limited. This company supplies agricultural equipment. More than 6 officers are present here, investigating the company's financial transactions and other documents.
Meanwhile, another team has reached the residence of Chartered Accountant Aditya Dinodia Agrawal in Shanti Nagar, Bhilai. Aditya Agrawal's office is in Raipur, but a team of two ED officers reached his bungalow in Bhilai. Family members are being questioned here and documents inside the house are being examined.
DMF scam
According to information released by the Chhattisgarh government, based on an ED report, the EOW registered a case under sections 120-B and 420. This case has revealed that large-scale financial irregularities were committed in the allocation of various tenders from the District Mining Fund of Korba.
Illegal benefits were given to tender applicants. According to ED facts, money was earned by colluding with tender applicants Sanjay Shinde, Ashok Kumar Agrawal, Mukesh Kumar Agrawal, Rishabh Soni, and middlemen Manoj Kumar Dwivedi, Ravi Sharma, Piyush Soni, Piyush Sahu, Abdul, and Shekhar.
In the District Mineral Fund (DMF) scam case, the Collector received a 40% commission, the CEO 5%, the SDO 3%, and the Sub-Engineer 2%. The rules for spending funds in DMF work projects were changed to facilitate corruption.
New provisions for fund spending added categories like material supply, training, agricultural equipment, sports materials, and medical equipment. This was done so that by leveraging the amended rules, projects offering maximum commission could be approved, bypassing essential development work under the DMF.
This revelation came during the investigation of a DMF scam worth over ₹575 crore in Korba. This has been confirmed by a 6000-page chargesheet presented by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in a Raipur court.
The ED investigation revealed that contractors paid huge amounts of commission to officials and political leaders, which ranged from 25% to 40% of the contract value. The entries for money given as bribes were made by vendors as "accommodation."
Searches of the entities making these entries and their patrons recovered several incriminating details, many fake ownership entities, and a large amount of cash. During the search operation, ₹76.50 lakh in cash was recovered. Meanwhile, 8 bank accounts were seized. These contain ₹35 lakh. Additionally, various stamps related to fake dummy firms, other incriminating documents, and digital devices were also seized.
The ED is investigating after money laundering came to light. The DMF is a trust funded by a contribution, established to work for the benefit of people affected by mining-related projects and activities in all districts of Chhattisgarh.
