47 FIRs, 5 Scams In 2 Years: ED Petition On Jharkhand Corruption Web | Exclusive
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ED said the top brass remained unresponsive to graft allegations against at least three ministers, four IAS officers and multiple DMOs
JMM’s Hemant Soren was arrested in February in connection with a money laundering case. (PTI File)
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sent at least 47 First Information Reports (FIR), 24 intimation letters and 11 reminders to top officials of the Jharkhand government over alleged scams in land, mining, sand and coal allotment and MGNREGA sectors over the past two years. However, the state’s top brass remained unresponsive to the corruption allegations against its top functionaries, including at least three ministers, four senior IAS officers and multiple district mining officers (DMO).
The officials who received the reminders included the chief secretary, Director General of Police (DGP), Director General (DG) of the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) and key principal secretaries.
The ED has now filed a 140-page writ petition with 10 annexures before the Jharkhand High Court early this week.
Between September 2022 and September 2024, the ED provided detailed documentation to the state, outlining evidence of “criminal” misgovernance and wrongdoing in at least five significant scams: counterfeiting government stamps; corruption in allotment of coal and MSMEs; illegal sand mining and sale; corruption in MGNREGA; rural development scams; forging land deeds; and other land-related scams.
The FIRs, lodged across police stations in the state, were later taken over by the ED under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and multiple ECIRs (Enforcement Case Information Reports) were initiated, clubbing similar cases together.
News18 has accessed and reviewed hundreds of pages of these documents, unveiling a staggering narrative of corruption and cover-up at the state level.
WRIT PETITION FILED
According to the petition accessed by News18, the seizure lists, witness statements and other extensive records, including incriminating documents and evidence of overbilling on government tenders involving high-level figures, reveal how the alleged misappropriation of public funds took place at the senior level of the government. Some documents also point towards the Chief Minister’s Office.
Despite the evidence, the Jharkhand government reportedly stonewalled the investigation, by not taking action or registering fresh FIRs, leaving the corruption network untouched and operational, ED has stated in the petition.
“This calculated inaction not only calls into question the accountability of the state’s highest offices but also raises alarm over systemic corruption that appears to be sheltered by those in power,” a senior ED officer told News 18.
“With each ignored intimation and FIR, the Jharkhand government has seemingly reinforced its complicity, allowing a culture of impunity to thrive. The state’s decision to turn a blind eye to such damning evidence threatens to further undermine public trust in governance, drawing serious questions about its commitment to law and order,” the petition added.
POLITICAL PRESSURE MOUNTING ON JMM
In the run-up to the assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) seems to be pressuring the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), accusing Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s government of corruption.
Starting from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, home minister Amit Shah to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, BJP’s star campaigners have attacked the government on issues of corruption and infiltration.
The JMM leaders, however, claim the cases are part of “BJP’s political vendetta”. “They (ED) arrested our chief minister, but could not establish the case before the court. He was granted bail and is back in the state. The BJP is using all its resources to break the party by poaching our senior leaders and members. They are levelling unproven and unrealistic allegations against the state’s bureaucrats,” said a senior JMM leader.
“We will fight them in court, while our political fight will also continue. People of Jharkhand will see this and give us justice in this election,” he added.
