ED raids in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar linked to IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan

According to the central investigation agency, the Enforcement Directorate conducted a raid on Thursday at numerous locations in Jharkhand linked to IAS official Chhavi Ranjan in connection with a land scam case.

The ED also conducted raids in West Bengal, Bihar, and Jharkhand, including at his Ranchi residence. ED also mentioned two locations in West Bengal, one in Bihar, and the rest in Jamshedpur and Ranchi.
Ranjan, an IAS officer from the 2011 batch, has served as the Deputy Commissioner of Ranchi and is currently assigned to the State Department of Social Welfare.

Meanwhile, on April 10, a Special PMLA Court in Ranchi filed money laundering allegations against suspended IAS official Pooja Singhal and others.

Pooja Singhal, the mining secretary of Jharkhand, was detained in May in connection with a money-laundering investigation involving the alleged misappropriation of MGNREGA funds, among other accusations.

She was the second arrest in this matter after Chartered Accountant Suman Kumar was detained on May 7. The ED collected Rs 17.51 crore from Kumar’s premises and Rs 1.8 crore from Pulse Hospital.

Singhal was detained after the ED obtained reliable proof of her relationship with CA Suman Kumar in order to construct the accusations. Pooja Singhal was the Secretary of Mines and Geology as well as the Managing Director of Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation Limited (JSMDC).

Rajiv Arun Ekka, an IAS official who was previously the senior secretary to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, requested time to appear before the ED in March of this year.

On March 15, the ED asked Ekka to join its investigation into a supposed video in which the IAS official is seen signing documents at the house of a person under investigation in connection with the detention of IAS officer Pooja Singhal. After the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) levelled severe allegations against Ekka, who also had the additional duty of Principal Secretary, Home, he was transferred as the Principal Secretary of the Panchayati Raj Department.

The Jharkhand government formed a one-member ‘Commision of Inquiry’ and nominated former Chief Justice Vinod Kumar Gupta to undertake an investigation into the video involving Rajiv Arun Ekka. The video was widely circulated on social media.