Jharkhand illegal-mining case: Enforcement Directorate arrests 'middleman' Prem Prakash
On Wednesday, the ED launched searches at premises linked to Prakash in Ranchi, apart from a few other places in Jharkhand, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Delhi-NCR, and recovered two AK-47 rifles and 60 bullets from a house linked to Prakash in the state capital.
FollowOfficials from the Enforcement Directirate (ED) on Thursday said they arrested a man identified as Prem Prakash in connection with its ongoing money-laundering probe into an illegal mining case in Jharkhand.
According to news agency PTI, Prakash was taken into custody under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) around 2 am on Thursday and will be produced before a Ranchi court where the federal agency will seek his custody. This is the third arrest in the case.
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Earlier, the ED had arrested Pankaj Mishra, a political aide of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, and Mishra’s associate and muscleman Bachhu Yadav.
On Wednesday, the ED launched searches at premises linked to Prakash in Ranchi, apart from a few other places in Jharkhand, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Delhi-NCR, and recovered two AK-47 rifles and 60 bullets from a house linked to Prakash in the state capital.
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However, it is reported that the weapons belonged to two Jharkhand Police constables, who were suspended after the ED made the recoveries.
After the rifles were recovered, a team of Jharkhand Police reached the spot, claiming that the AK-47s belonged to Inspector Vinod Kumar. The ED said it would be handed over to the police only after the investigation was completed.
Meanwhile, the Office of Jharkhand CM objected to news reports linking Soren to the private individual against whom ED raids were conducted. The CMO said that all cooperation so far had been provided during all raids.
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In case the Jharkhand government came across any further instances of media platforms putting out malicious reports and tweets/digital posts, it would be dealt with as per due legal provisions, ANI reported.
(with inputs from PTI)
