Ambikapur. The Income Tax Department’s action against the premises of Chhattisgarh Congress leader Amarjeet Bhagat is continuing for more than 24 hours on Thursday. On Wednesday, his residence in Ambikapur and bungalow in Raipur MLA Colony were raided. The Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh team simultaneously raided the premises of the former minister’s PA, his close SI and a businessman. Everyone has been detained. Bhagat’s name is included among the accused in the coal scam. ED has lodged an FIR on January 17.
It is being told that the name of Amarjeet Bhagat is in the diary of coal scam mastermind businessman Suryakant Tiwari and there is mention of taking Rs 50 lakh from him in the diary. Apart from Bhagat’s Ambikapur, the bungalow in Sitapur was also raided on Wednesday. The IT team is also scanning the documents at Surguja Kutir, Amarjeet Bhagat’s residence in Raipur. There is a bungalow, temple, garden and office in about two acres. Amarjeet’s health had deteriorated after the raid. He said that the action is being taken to harass.
Civil engineer Pramod Toppo, close to Amarjeet Bhagat, has been detained by the team. He has been caught from Phundurdihari and is currently kept in Amarjeet’s house. He is also the king of Amarjeet Bhagat. Toppo had also constructed the Congress office of Ambikapur. There is news of seizure of lakhs of rupees in cash, jewelery and many land documents from the house of Amarjeet Bhagat’s personal assistant Rajesh Verma in Balrampur. However, Income Tax officials have not confirmed this. Rajesh Verma is a teacher and his wife is a nurse.
The team has raided the house of SI Rupesh Narang, close to Bhagat. Rupesh Narang was in Raipur. The IT team has detained him in Raipur itself for questioning. Narang was considered an influential police officer in Surguja area during the Congress rule. The team has picked up Raipur industrialist Harpal Singh Arora from a hotel in Ambikapur. IT investigation is going on at his Raipur based institutes. He had come to a wedding ceremony in Ambikapur on Tuesday. He is close and business partner of Bhagat. He has many big properties in Raipur.
