The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized cash worth Rs 11.88 crore lying in 37 bank accounts of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s political representative Pankaj Mishra and his associates, which is probing Mishra in a money laundering case. ,
The agency claimed that the seized cash is a part of money earned from illegal mining from various places including Sahibganj, the constituency of Soren. Apart from Mishra, the bank accounts of Dahu Yadav were also seized.
Earlier, on July 7, the ED had conducted searches at 19 places in Sahibganj, Barhait, Rajmahal, Mirza Chowki and Barharwa, in which various incriminating documents and unaccounted cash worth Rs 5.34 crore were seized.
“During the search operation, the ED has also seized five stone crushers which were being operated illegally and also five illegal firearm cartridges. Evidence collected during investigation, including statements of various persons, digital evidence and documents, revealed that the seized cash and bank balances were obtained from large-scale illegal mining being carried out in Sahibganj area including forest area. a statement.
“Rs 100 crore proceeds of crime arising out of illegal mining have also been traced and work is on,” the statement said.
The developments come at a time when Soren is facing corruption charges for allotting himself a mining lease and a plot of land to his wife. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has already issued notice to Soren’s brother and state MLA Basant Soren in connection with the mining lease. Basant is the MLA from Dumka.
Earlier, the Election Commission, which is probing whether Basant’s case could lead to his disqualification as an MLA, had sent a notice to the Chief Minister seeking his stand on the allegations against him.
The allegations were first made by the former Chief Minister in a press conference. BJP Leader Raghubar Das, who had also indicated Mishra’s involvement in some dubious deals.
In May, the ED had conducted searches at 36 places linked to the alleged MGNREGA scam, including the premises of Jharkhand Mining Secretary Pooja Singhal. Due to this, cash of Rs 19.76 crore was confiscated. The ED said, “In this case also, the evidence collected during the investigation including the evidence collected during searches and statements of various persons has revealed that the bulk of the seized cash was obtained from illegal mining and was carried out by senior bureaucrats and belonged to politicians.” said the statement.
Pooja Singhal and her CA Suman Kumar were arrested in this case and are currently in judicial custody. A prosecution complaint has been lodged in this case. Thus total cash and bank balance of Rs 36.58 crore generated illegally from mining etc. has been seized by the ED.
According to sources, the case against Mishra started with a complaint lodged by a toll tax contractor at Badharwa police station in Sahibganj in June 2020. The complaint refers to the clash and alleged assault on the instructions of a minister in the Mishra and Soren government.
It further alleged that the clash was a result of a dispute over toll collection from vehicles entering Badharwa Nagar Panchayat. The complainant alleged that the minister’s brother was also competing for the tender and had tried to obstruct the process by bidding exorbitantly to a fake company to secure the contract, only to disrespect the bid later. .