The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized cash amounting to Rs 11.88 crore lying in 37 bank accounts belonging to Pankaj Mishra, political representative of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, and his associates, in connection with a case of money laundering it is probing against Mishra.
The agency claimed that the seized cash is a part of the money generated from illegal mining from various places, including Soren's constituency Sahibganj. Apart from Mishra, bank accounts of Dahoo Yadav were also seized.
Earlier, on July 7, the ED had conducted searches at 19 locations in Sahibganj, Barhet, Rajmahal, Mirza Chauki and Barharwa resulting in the seizure of various incriminating documents and Rs 5.34 crore unaccounted cash.
"During the search operation, ED has also seized five stone crushers that were being illegally operated and five illegal firearm cartridges. The evidence collected during the course of investigation, including statements of various persons, digital evidence and documents revealed that the seized cash and bank balance is derived from illegal mining being rampantly done in Sahibganj area, including in the forest area,” the ED said in a statement.
"A trail of further Rs 100 crore of proceeds of crime generated from illegal mining has also been unearthed and being worked upon," the statement added.
The developments come at a time when Soren is facing allegations of corruption for allotting a mining lease to himself and a plot of land to his wife. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has already issued a notice to Soren’s brother and state MLA Basant Soren in the mining lease issue. Basant is an MLA from Dumka.
Earlier, the ECI, which is examining 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 charges against him.
The allegations were first made at a press conference by former chief minister and BJP leader Raghubar Das, who had also hinted at Mishra being involved in some dubious deals.
In May, the ED had conducted searches at 36 locations connected with the alleged MNREGA scam, which included premises of Jharkhand mining secretary Pooja Singhal. It led to the seizure of Rs 19.76 crore in cash. "In this case also, evidence collected during the course of investigation including those collected during the searches and statements of various persons revealed that the major chunk of the seized cash was derived from illegal mining and was belonging to senior bureaucrats and politicians," the ED statement said.
Pooja Singhal and Suman Kumar, her CA, were arrested in this case and are presently in judicial custody. A prosecution complaint has been filed in this case. Thus, in total, cash and bank balance of Rs 36.58 crore, illegally generated from mining etc has been seized by the ED.
According to sources, the case against Mishra originates from a June 2020 complaint made by a toll tax contractor with the Badharwa police station in Sahibganj. The complaint referred to a clash and alleged assault on directions of Mishra and a minister in the Soren government.
It further alleged that the clash was a result of a controversy over a tender for 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 scuttle the process by propping a dummy company that bid exorbitantly to bag the contract, only to dishonour the bid later.
(With inputs from agencies)