The agency had on July 19 arrested Pankaj Mishra, Bachhu Yadav on August 4 and Prem Prakash on August 25.
Ranchi: Amid allegations of office of profit against Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday filed a chargesheet against his MLA representative, associates Bachhu Yadav and Prem Prakash in Rs 1,000-crore illegal mining case. The financial provbe egncy filed chargesheet before a Ranchi court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
As per the report, the ED had conducted search operations at as many as 46 locations during its ongoing investigation and had seized cash to the tune of Rs 5.34 crore. The probe agency had also freezed Rs 13.32 crore in various bank accounts and had seized an inland vessel MV Infralink-III. It was also reported that the investigating agency had seized five stone crushers, two Hyva trucks besides incriminating documents along with two AK 47 assault rifles.
The agency had on July 19 arrested Pankaj Mishra, Bachhu Yadav on August 4 and Prem Prakash on August 25. All the accused were arrested in money laundering case and are in judicial custody.
Also read: Jharkhand illegal mining probe: ED seizes two AK-47 rifles from home of CM Hemant Soren’s aide
In a raid linked to Prem Prakash, a close aide of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had on August 24 unearthed two AK-47 rifles from a house in Ranchi. The raids were a part of the ongoing investigation into the mining scam which reportedly runs into at least Rs 100 crore.
The ED had taken the firearms in their possession. Sources in the ED had said raids are on at 20 locations in Jharkhand, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and the Delhi-NCR. While the ED is mainly looking at the money-laundering angle, the case is to unearth an alleged illegal mining and extortion racket.
On July 8, Mishra and Yadav were raided by the ED. The raids spanned across 19 locations in Jharkhand. The ED had seized Rs 13.32 crore from 50 bank accounts in the raids. In March, a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was filed against Mishra and others. It was alleged that Mishra “illegally grabbed or amassed huge assets in his favour”.
