Raipur: After political advisor to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Vinod Verma, was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday, he issued a statement on his social media accounts, including Facebook, regarding the summons. In a post accompanied by a photo with his family, including his two sons, he stated that he accompanied his sons to the ED Office on one day and will bring his wife to the central probing agency's office on the next.
Verma was questioned by the central agency last week in connection with a case related to an alleged betting and gambling app. He also posted a picture with his family members on his social media account, mentioning that he dropped them off at the ED office. However, he did not specify the case for which they were summoned.
“ED has now called my family. I have left my two sons, Punarvasu and Tathagat, and my brother-in-law, Tukendra Verma, at the ED office. My wife, Jaya, has been called for tomorrow. The agencies can do whatever they want at the behest of the central government, but they cannot break the morale of @bhupeshbaghel ji and his team," he further wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
The ED had recorded the statements of Verma and the Chief Minister's Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Manish Banchhore, under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on August 28.
ED raids properties of Verma and 2 OSDs
The properties of Verma and two OSDs—Ashish Verma and Manish Banchhore—were raided by the ED on August 23 in connection with a money laundering investigation into 'Mahadev Online Book,' an alleged illegal betting app.
Assistant Sub-Inspector Chandrabhushan Verma, alleged hawala operator brothers Anil and Sunil Dammani, and Satish Chandrakar were arrested in the case on the same day.
The ED alleged that the arrested policeman used his relationship with Vinod Verma and hawala funds received from Dubai to influence high-ranking officials and politicians connected to the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister's Office.
Main promoters of the app operated from Dubai
Sourabh Chandrakar and Ravi Uppal, who hail from Bhilai in the state, were the 'main promoters' of the app and operated from Dubai, the agency claimed.
Chief Minister Baghel had alleged that raids by the ED and Income Tax department on his colleagues were malicious attempts to defame and suppress the Congress government in Chhattisgarh.
Vinod Verma had also held a press conference on August 24, asserting that he did not have a 'single penny' of ill-gotten wealth.
Terming the ED raids as 'dacoity,' he alleged that they seized jewelry from his house even though he provided their bills of purchase.
(With Agency inputs)
