JHARKHAND ILLEGAL-MINING CASE: ED ARRESTS ‘MIDDLEMAN’ PREM PRAKASH

Ranchi Police on Wednesday suspended two of its personnel who allegedly had kept their rifles at the residence of middleman Prem Prakash in a case of alleged illegal mining and extortion in Jharkhand. The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday seized AK-47 rifles from a house in Ranchi during raids conducted in multiple locations spread across states, including Bihar, in connection with the central probe agency’s ongoing investigation into alleged illegal mining and extortion in Jharkhand. The AK47 guns were recovered from inside an almirah of the house, which allegedly belongs to Prem Prakash, who is an alleged middleman and is said to have strong political connections.

Prakash’s residence and other locations have been raided in the past also. The fresh raids are being conducted after Pankaj Mishra, MLA representative of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, was questioned. Mishra was arrested on July 19 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) of 2002. Also, a special PMLA court in Ranchi had earlier this month sent Bachchu Yadav, who was arrested earlier in connection with an illegal mining case in Jharkhand, to six days of ED remand. Bachchu is a close associate of Pankaj Mishra.

The ED had seized cash amounting to Rs 11.88 crore lying in 37 bank accounts belonging to Mishra in the case. The seized amount belonged to Mishra, one Dahoo Yadav, and their associates. The ED on July 27 seized one inland vessel, M.V. Infralink-III, worth Rs 30 crore in connection with its ongoing investigation into the illegal mining and extortion cases in the state. The vessel was seized during a search operation conducted in the case of the involvement of Pankaj Mishra.