Ganesh Kendale
RANCHI: Enforcement Directorate on Monday carried out raids at 23 locations across Ranchi and Chaibasa districts of poll-bound Jharkhand, targeting the relatives of a minister in the Hemant Soren cabinet and an IAS officer, among several others.
ED did not issue any official statement on the raids, but sources in the agency said the searches were linked to the money-laundering probe into the financial irregularities in the implementation of centrally funded Jal Jeevan Mission in the state.
PM Modi recently dropped hints at widespread irregularities in the implementation of the central scheme, while addressing the public at a political event in Hazaribag.
ED teams swarmed the premises of IAS officer Manish Ranjan in Ranchi, Chaibasa residence of sanitation minister Mithilesh Thakur’s brother Vinay Thakur, Ranchi house of minister’s PA Harendra Singh; and the residential premises of several employees and engineers of the water and sanitation dept.
The sleuths are believed to have collected documents and electronic evidence.
According to the sources, ED action is linked to an FIR registered by Jharkhand Police in Dec 2023 against Santosh Kumar, a former cashier-cum-upper division clerk in the drinking water and sanitation department, and other unknown people. The FIR stated that an amount of Rs 23 crore was credited from govt treasury to the bank account of Kumar, which he subsequently withdrew.
JMM alleged the raids were part of “political vendetta” and that BJP had unleashed the central agency to target its opponents in view of upcoming elections. “We are going ahead with our people-centric work and they are doing their part of preparations,” CM Hemant Soren said without naming BJP.
Thakur termed it a pressure tactics. “Since I refused to join BJP, the central agency has been pressed into action. They wanted me to bow down, but I will not bend even if I perish,” he said.
Asked about Thakur’s allegations, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma, said the party had no truck with Thakur, except for his role in irregularities in the funded scheme. “Water has not reached households and funds have been spent. Centre will trace the funds,” he added.
