The sleuths of Economic Offence Wing (EOW) on Friday morning carried out simultaneous raids at around eight places ofExcise Department’s former Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Samudra Singh.

 

According to official sources, the swoop followed after a 119-pages complaint of financial irregularities in Excise Department committed at the behest of the errant OSD was submitted by Congress leader Nitin Bhansali.

 

The whistleblower Bhansali had directly put forth the complaint to Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and EOW on February 22,As per the sources, different teams of EOW personnel carried out concurrent searches at eight different residential premises spread across Raipur and Bilaspur districts of Chhattisgarh, while it also enveloped another premise in Anuppur district of Madhya Pradesh. “All these premises are inhabited by the errant officer, who is now facing the full might of corruption watchdogs,” the sources maintained.

 

In Raipur, according to the sources, the premises covered under the searches were located at Devendra Nagar-based Officers Colony, Rawatpura Colony in Deopuri and another house in Boriyakala. “In all, around 100 personnel were involved in the operations leading to seizure of incriminating documents, which were being closely scrutinized by the EOW sleuths,” the sources averred.

 

Sources, in the meantime, also disclosed that the errant officer Samudra Singh, earlier serving with Excise Department on contractual appointment following his retirement, has been alleged to have been involved in committing financial irregularities, resulting in loss to state exchequer.

 

“Prima-facie, the officer has been found of misusing his official power with the sole intent of extending undue favours to some major liquor contractors of the state, which incurred loss to the tune of crores to the state exchequer,” the sources underlined and further added that the searches were still underway and these revelations were merely the preliminary findings.

 

Meanwhile, the EOW reinforcing its action has also registered an offence against the errant officer under relevant Sections of Prevention of Corruption Act-1988 and were investigating the matter further, the sources affirmed.