Chhattisgarh CMO deputy secretary suspended

RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh government has suspended Soumya Chaurasia, a deputy secretary in the chief minister's office following her arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with an alleged coal levy scam.

A special PMLA court in Raipur on Monday extended her judicial remand till January 2. Soumya, a 2008-batch state administrative service officer, was arrested by ED on December 2. The letter of suspension is dated December 15 but became public on Monday.

After her arrest, Soumya was in ED custody for questioning in connection with the 'illegal coal levy scam', which the ED describes as an "extortion syndicate" involving some IAS and state officials, businessmen and politicians. Her ED custody ended on December 15, after which a PMLA court remanded her in jail for four days.