search at a transporter’s residence in Bhilai-3 was among the operations that unfolded across Chhattisgarh on Friday as the State’s anti-graft agency searched 16 premises in six districts in connection with three major corruption investigations involving the alleged liquor, coal levy and medical scams. The State Economic Offences Investigation Bureau/Anti-Corruption Bureau (SEOIACB), in an official statement, confirmed six searches each in the liquor and coal levy cases and four in the medical scam. Raipur, Durg, Bilaspur, Rajnandgaon, Korba and Gariaband districts were covered. At Vasundhara Nagar in Bhilai-3, a six-member investigating team reportedly led by a woman Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) reached a residential property early Friday. The premises displayed a nameplate bearing the name of transporter Jitendra Kumar Singh, along with Sai Oil Carrier and Ravi Roadlines. Separate local accounts identified transport businessmen Santosh Singh and Mukesh Singh in connection with the Bhilai-3 searches. Senior officers of the State’s anti-graft agency, speaking to

 

The Hitavada on condition of anonymity, had also identified Jitendra Singh among those whose premises were covered. The precise relationship between these names and the property could not be independently established from the available information. Investigators reportedly examined documents, digital devices and banking particulars inside the premises. Security personnel restricted access to the property during the operation, while the investigating team maintained confidentiality concerning the material under scrutiny. The Bhilai-3 action assumed particular interest against the backdrop of recent Enforcement Directorate searches at premises associated with Durg transporter Gulshan Baghel. Local accounts suggested that information gathered during those proceedings might have prompted further scrutiny. However, no official evidence establishing a connection between the two agencies’ searches was available. Beyond Bhilai-3, confidential inputs provided by senior SEOIACB officers identified Rajnandgaon businessmen Jai Bagga and Vaibhav Golchha among those searched.

 

The officers also named Raja Parkh and Vimal Parkh in Rajim and Gobara-Nawapara of Gariaband. In Katghora, Korba district, the operations reportedly covered Municipal Council President Raj Jaiswal and municipal employee Dilip Kenwat. The bureau’s public statement did not disclose individual names or specify which case prompted the search at each premises. The official case-wise distribution establishes the wider investigative picture. Six premises in Raipur and Rajnandgaon were searched in the alleged liquor scam, registered as Crime No. 04/2024. The coal levy investigation, Crime No. 03/2024, accounted for six searches across Korba, Bilaspur, Raipur and Durg. Four searches in Raipur and Gariaband related to the medical scam, registered as Crime No. 05/2025. The inclusion of the medical case marks an important dimension of Friday’s action. The bureau cited provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and Indian Penal Code relating to criminal breach of trust, forgery and conspiracy, without disclosing the specific institutions or transactions under investigation.

 

The agency confirmed that investigators collected records concerning suspected financial irregularities, illegal transactions and economic activities. Property-registration documents, digital devices and other evidence were among the materials obtained. These are being examined to determine whether they strengthen evidentiary links already established during the investigations. The liquor investigation has already generated extensive prosecution material. On October 14, SEOIACB filed its 27,000-page tenth supplementary chargesheet against 20 individuals and 22 firms and companies, detailing allegations of illicit liquor sales, commissions, hawala transfers and investments. In the alleged Rs 500-crore-plus coal levy scam, the agency filed an approximately 9,500-page sixth supplementary chargesheet against 12 accused on October 5. Investigators have alleged illegal collections of Rs 25 per tonne on coal transportation and Rs 100 per tonne on iron-ore pellets. Friday’s SEOIACB searches coincided with separate Enforcement Directorate operations in the liquor investigation. No formal coordination between the agencies has been confirmed.