RAIPUR — The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has officially taken over the probe into a mysterious financial scandal involving transactions worth ₹165 crore in a laborer’s bank account.
Acting on a high-stakes mandate from the Chhattisgarh High Court, the central agency registered a First Information Report (FIR) on March 26, 2026, to unearth what the court described as a “huge scam” that local police failed to resolve for years.
The Laborer with Crores: A Financial Mystery
The case centers around Animesh Singh, a resident of Durg who was employed by Hitesh Choubey, a prominent Public Works Department (PWD) contractor, on a modest monthly salary of ₹12,000. According to the FIR, Choubey allegedly assisted Singh in opening a current account at YES Bank in August 2018, which Choubey then operated directly via Net Banking.
While Singh remained a low-wage worker, his bank account became a hub for massive financial activity. News reports and court submissions revealed that approximately ₹165 crore had been transacted through the account in over 3,500 transactions between 2018 and 2019.
The Income Tax Department’s analysis later confirmed credit transactions of approximately ₹81.82 crore and debits of ₹82.70 crore involving over 170 different parties.
Kidnapping and Gunpoint Extortion
The legal battle began when Singh alleged that on October 23, 2019, he was forcibly taken from his home to Hotel Florent. There, he was allegedly confronted by Choubey and a local “strongman,” Baba Chauhan, who reportedly threatened him with a revolver.
The accused allegedly forced Singh to sign 40 blank checks, five blank stamp papers, and notary registers. Singh further alleged that the duo was extorting ₹8 crore from him and had used his name to purchase a Mercedes car worth ₹52 lakh.
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High Court Rebukes Local Police
The matter reached the High Court through a writ petition filed by Prabhunath Mishra, General Manager of a local labor union, who raised alarms over the scale of the transactions and suspected involvement of influential officials.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal expressed deep dissatisfaction with the “tardy progress” of the local police. The court noted that despite years of investigation, the state agency had failed to trace numerous account holders linked to the money flow.
“The investigation agency could not be able to trace out the bank account holders… which smells [of a] huge scam,” the Court observed, adding that the entire transaction remained a “mystery” despite the local police’s resources.
CBI Intervention
On March 11, 2026, the High Court ordered the transfer of the case to the CBI to ensure a fair and impartial investigation into the complex financial web.
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The CBI Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Raipur has now registered the case under Sections 385 (Extortion), 342 (Wrongful Confinement), 506 (Criminal Intimidation), and 34 (Common Intention) of the IPC.
The investigation has been entrusted to Deputy Superintendent of Police (Dy. SP) Arjun Vasant Pawar. The agency has been directed to submit a status report by the next hearing on April 7, 2026.