IAS Ranu Sahu arrested in Chhattisgarh: All you need to know about the officer

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested IAS officer Ranu Sahu in Chhattisgarh in connection with a money laundering investigation involving an alleged coal levy scam in the state, said an official.

According to reports, a day after the central organisation carried out raids at her location, she was arrested.

"Sahu was arrested in connection with an alleged coal levy case, and produced in a court hearing Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cases here to seek her custody," ED's lawyer Saurabh Pandey said. She is the second IAS officer in the state to be arrested in the case.

Sahu, a Chhattisgarh-cadre IAS officer of the 2010 batch, is currently posted as the director of the state agriculture department. Prior to this, she had served as collector of the coal-rich Korba and Raigarh districts. 

The ED conducted raids at her residence in Raipur on Friday. Her premises were raided earlier as well and her assets were attached by the ED as part of its probe into the alleged coal levy case. The agency has been probing an alleged coal levy and liquor scam in the state in which it has arrested some prominent bureaucrats, apart from politicians and those linked to them.

According to Pandey, she was found to have Rs 5.52 crore worth of immovable property.

Despite the ED's request for a 14-day custody period, the court gave the agency custody of her until July 25, he continued

Meanwhile, Sahu's attorney, Faizal Rizvi claimed that she was detained on totally fabricated charges.

"From October of last year to January of this year, she associated with the central agency in the claimed coal levy case and showed up whenever she was called. She was never called by the ED after January. According to the facts, she was not involved in the alleged crime, he was quoted saying by DNA.

Her parents are the owners of the properties that have been linked to Sahu under the PMLA. He claimed that although the ED claimed the profits of crime were from 2020, these properties date from before 2019. We objected to the ED's request for a 14-day custodial remand, Rizvi added.

IAS Ranu Sahu’s family and educational background

Ranu Sahu comes from a humble family background. She was born in a small village called Bhagwanpur in Raipur district of Chhattisgarh. Her father is a retired government teacher and her mother is a homemaker. Her family has been very supportive and encouraging in her education and career aspirations. Her parents always motivated her to study hard and pursue her dreams.

According to IndiaCSR, after completing her schooling from Raipur, Ranu Sahu pursued her graduation from St. Xavier’s College in Mumbai. She later joined IIT Bombay to pursue her Masters degree in Applied Mathematics.

Then she decided to join the civil services and prepared for the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination. In her first attempt, she cleared the civil services exam and secured an All India Rank (AIR) 13 in 2010.

She later married to Amit Kumar, who is also an IAS officer of the 2010 batch and belongs to the Madhya Pradesh cadre. They are parents to a 10-year-old son.

(With PTI Inputs)