The State government authorities, who had denied Enforcement Directorate (ED) a decent space to set-up its office will be envious to see the new office of ED situated on the stone throw away distance from Birsa Munda domestic airport.

The palatial building was constructed by the then Jharkhand minister Anosh Ekka on the Airport Road in Ranchi is now the new address of Enforcement Directorate (ED) which has its sub zonal office in Ranchi. Anosh Ekka had constructed it as his dream house.

Sources in the ED said that the directorate has decided to relocate its office at this sprawling building, which is under possession of ED.

The building constructed worth Rs 2.23 crore by Ekka out of disproportionate assets he had raised as the minister in the Madhu Koda led government from March 2005 till December 2008.

Later on, CBI and ED filed prosecution against Anosh Ekka. The Special PMLA court awarded him seven years of rigorous imprisonment and confiscated properties worth Rs 22.38 crore he had raised on his name as well as his relatives. This building is one of properties seized by the ED.

However, Ekka successfully fought a prolonged battle to reclaim this house.    

So far the ED from 2013 had been running its office at a rented premise on Pee Pee Compound on Main Road. This is too small to provide accommodation to officials.

Currently saddled with over 50 cases, the ED has staff strength of 42.

Out of these cases 11 were referred by Jharkhand police including money laundering by Maoists, cyber thugs and chit fund operators. ED is investigating money laundering charges against Madhu Koda and his then cabinet colleagues, the medicine scam, the coal and iron ore scam and the Sanjeevani Buildcon realty scam, among others.

Sources in the ED said that from the past many years the ED had been unsuccessfully trying to secure office space from the Jharkhand government.  In 2018, the then government headed by Raghubar Das had agreed to provide a 5,000 sqft office on the fourth floor of the new excise building on Kanke Road, a stone’s throw from the CM’s residence.

But the allotment was cancelled on administrative ground without explaining those grounds. The excise department wanted the ED to shift to the not-so-spacious old building of the department at Dhurwa.

Last year ED had requested state government to provide space at the proposed smart city. But the state government demanded a huge price for land.