Raipur: The EOW Special Court has directed the jail authorities to preserve the CCTV footage amid allegations of harassment and threatening against Chhattisgarh Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) Chief Amresh Mishra, who is investigating the coal scam case. Suryakant Tiwari, a key figure in the coal scam, has accused Mishra of harassment, claiming that the ACB chief threatened and coerced him to implicate Bhupesh Baghel.
Tiwari, who is currently incarcerated in connection with the coal levy case, alleges that Mishra summoned him to the jail superintendent's chamber, where he was pressured to confess to giving money to Baghel through Saumya Chaurasia. On Thursday, Baghel visited the Central Jail but did not meet Tiwari.
During the hearing, the court asked the jail authority to submit a report in the case, with evidence. Notably, as per the Rule 814 of the Jail Manual, the Inspector General (IG) has the authority to enter and inspect the jail. The jail management confirmed that Mishra had indeed visited the jail on Sunday.
Tiwari's lawyer, Faizal Rizvi, argued that while the IG has the right to inspect the jail, court permission is required to meet undertrial prisoners. Mishra’s actions, Rizvi contends, did not adhere to Rule 816, and the court has been asked to ensure that the CCTV footage from the jail and the entry gate is preserved.
Former Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel criticized ACB-EOW Chief Amresh Mishra for allegedly obstructing the jail management’s access to Tiwari. Baghel accused Mishra of orchestrating a conspiracy against him. He threatened that he would complain and brought the matter in the knowledge of the Chief Minister, Chief Justice of India, and the Bilaspur High Court.
Upon leaving the jail, Baghel interacted with the media and expressed his frustration over the actions of the ACB Chief. He alleged that he is in the radar of no. 1 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and no. 2 Home Minister Amit Shah. He mentioned discussing Tiwari’s threats with Congress MLA Devendra Yadav and questioned why no action was taken against Mishra, who was Raipur IG during the Balodabazar violence.
Baghel remarked Tiwari is in jail and continuously received threats and compelled to implicate him in a false case. Finally, he is not left with another option to investigate the conspiracies hatched against him, the former CM said. He accused the authorities of creating obstacles in his efforts to understand the situation.
Tiwari mentioned in his application that the ACB chief threatened him to implicate Baghel in the coal scam case, otherwise he would "destroy his whole family" if he did not comply.
Tiwari has also filed a bail petition in both the ACB-EOW court and the special ED court, with hearings scheduled for September 19.
Additionally, Rajnikant Tiwari, Suryakant’s brother, and Manish Upadhyay were presented in the ACB Special Court. They were sent by court on 14-day custodial remand. The court has remanded both to 14 days of judicial custody.
