The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday, 19th of July, arrested Pankaj Mishra, a close aide of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in connection with the money laundering case related to alleged illegal mining in Ranchi. Mishra was arrested following several hours of questioning by the ED officials.
ED arrested Pankaj Mishra, the MLA representative of Chief Minister Jharkhand, Hemant Soren, in a money laundering case related to alleged illegal mining: Sources
— ANI (@ANI) July 19, 2022
According to reports, Mishra had joined the investigation on his third summons on Tuesday. He had skipped the prior two summons sent to him by the department citing his ill health as the reason.
ED raids 18 locations linked to Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren’s close aide Pankaj Mishra, seizes Rs 11.88 crores cash
On July 8, ED conducted raids at as many as 18 locations in Jharkhand allegedly linked to CM Hemant Soren’s close aide Pankaj Mishra and the latter’s alleged business associates in Sahebganj, Berhait, Rajmahal, and Mirza Chauki.
The agency had reportedly seized cash amounting to Rs 11.88 crore lying in 37 bank accounts belonging to Pankaj Mishra, a close aide of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, and others in the illegal mining case. According to ED, five illegally operated stone crushers and five illegal gun cartridges were also seized during this search operation.
“With the present seizure, total cash and bank balance of Rs 36.58 Crore illegally generated from mining etc in Jharkhand has been seized,” the agency informed.
ED has seized cash amounting to Rs 11.88 Crore generated from illegal mining in Jharkhand lying in various bank accounts. With the present seizure, total cash and bank balance of Rs 36.58 Crore illegally generated from mining etc in Jharkhand has been seized. pic.twitter.com/rEQKtzqdRp
— ED (@dir_ed) July 15, 2022
Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had made a revelation that politicians and bureaucrats have complicity in the illegal mining trade which has been ongoing in Jharkhand and they have minted money by using their clout. The agency had found a trail of more than Rs 100 crores in connection with illegal mining in the state.
The federal agency reported that earlier in May, searches at 36 locations related to the MNREGA scam were carried out under PMLA, leading to the seizure of Rs 19.76 crore in cash. The homes of Pooja Singhal, IAS, and her colleagues were among the places that were searched.
According to the ED, evidence gathered during the investigation in this case also showed that the majority of the money confiscated came from illicit mining and belonged to senior bureaucrats and politicians.
Suman Kumar, a chartered accountant, and Pooja Singhal were both detained in connection with this case and are now being held in judicial custody. A prosecution complaint has been filed in this case.
So far, in total, cash and bank balance of Rs 36.58 crore, illegally generated from mining has been seized by the ED in the case.
