ED on Wednesday carried out fresh raids at several locations in Jharkhand, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Delhi-NCR.
Two AK 47s recovered from almirah at Ranchi residence of Hemant Soren’s aide
The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday recovered two AK-47s from the residence of Prem Prakash in connection with the illegal mining case. Prem Prakash is believed to be a close aide of Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren. In a photo shared by ED sources, the Ak-47 guns can be seen kept on two different racks of the almirah. There was hardly anything else in the almirah, as evident in the photo shared.
The agency on Wednesday carried out searches at multiple locations in Jharkhand, Bihar, Tail Nadu and Delhi-NCR after Hemant Soren’s aide Pankaj Mishra was questioned. Mishra was arrested days ago in connection with the case and this is not the first raid at Mishra’s residence.
The ED probe began after it raided Mishra and his alleged associates on July 8, covering 19 locations in Sahibganj, Barhet, Rajmahal, Mirza Chauki and Barharwa in Jharkhand in the case linked to alleged instances of illegal mining and extortion. The searches were launched after the ED filed a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Mishra and others in March, alleging that the former “illegally grabbed or amassed huge assets in his favour”.
Soon after the July raids, the ED seized funds amounting to ₹13.32 crore lying in 50 bank accounts.
“The evidence collected during the course of the investigation, including the statements of various persons, digital evidence and documents, revealed that the seized cash or bank balance is derived from illegal mining being rampantly done in the Sahibganj area, including the forest area,” the agency had said.
(With agency inputs)
