The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday carried out extensive searches at multiple locations in Jharkhand, targeting key figures, including the press advisor to Jharkhand’s Chief Minister Hemant Soren, officials from Sahibganj district, and a former MLA.
The raids are part of an ongoing money laundering investigation related to alleged illegal mining activities within the state.
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The individuals subjected to searches include Abhishek Prasad alias Pintu, the collector and Superintendent of Police of Sahibganj district, former MLA Pappu Yadav, several jail department officials, and a police constable.
The ED has persistently summoned Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren seeking his availability for questioning in connection with the case.
This comes days after Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MLA Sarfaraz Ahmad resigned from the Assembly, raising speculations within state political circles. This move closely followed the ED’s issuance of its seventh summons to the Chief Minister.
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Responding to the sixth summons on December 12, CM Soren sent a letter to the ED, stating that all his and his family’s assets had been disclosed during the Central Bureau of Investigation’s (CBI) preliminary inquiry, based on a complaint filed with the Lokpal. Soren attributed the repeated summons to political motives, suggesting a conspiracy to destabilise the democratically elected government.
The ED, however, maintains that the focus of the investigation is not on the disclosure of personal assets but on probing assets believed to be proceeds of crime, specifically in the context of a land scam case.
The agency, which has already arrested 14 individuals, including the 2011-batch IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan, highlights the investigation into the trail of Rs 100 crore in proceeds of crime linked to illegal mining operations in Jharkhand since 2022. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Chhavi Ranjan was previously questioned by the ED in November last year in another money laundering case related to alleged illegal mining in the state.