In Ranchi the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) recently apprehended three additional individuals in connection with a money laundering case associated with an alleged land grab involving former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren.
The arrested individuals, namely Sanjeet Kumar, MD Irshad, and Tapas Ghosh, were taken into police trail on May 9 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
As per the, ED press release, these arrests are related to the investigation of a land scam case, where the accused are allegedly involved in forgery, tampering, and fabrication of land records. This activity has led to changes in land designations that are protected under the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act (CNT Act), aimed at safeguarding the land rights of tribal and marginalized communities.
The ED’s investigation has revealed the active participation of government officials from the land revenue departments in Ranchi and Kolkata. Sanjeet Kumar and Tapas Ghosh, who were employed on a contractual basis at the Registrar of Assurances in Kolkata, are implicated in the forgery and tampering of original land records.
It has been discovered that some of the unlawfully acquired lands are under the illegal possession of Hemant Soren, the former CM of Jharkhand. The ED has initiated investigations into multiple cases of land scams with similar modus operandi based on FIRs filed by Jharkhand Police and Kolkata Police against various individuals, including government officials.
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The ED’s probe has uncovered a land mafia racket operating in Jharkhand, engaging in the tampering of land records in Ranchi and Kolkata to facilitate illegal acquisition, possession, and use of properties. The agency has conducted searches, seizures, and provisional attachments of assets worth significant amounts in connection with these cases.
So far, the ED has arrested 25 individuals, including Hemant Soren, Chhavi Ranjan (Ex-DC, Ranchi), Bhanu Pratap Prasad (Revenue Sub-Inspector), Amit Kumar Agarwal, and Prem Prakash. Prosecution Complaints have been filed, and further investigations are ongoing.
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