The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday raided multiple locations in poll-bound Jharkhand apart from West Bengal in a money laundering investigation linked to alleged illegal infiltration of Bangladeshi nationals, official sources said. A total of 17 places are being covered in the two neighbouring states by the Ranchi office of the federal probe agency, a day before the first phase of polling in Jharkhand.
Visuals of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel positioned outside a hotel located on Bariatu Road in Ranchi and a resort in the city were captured by press teams as ED teams scoured for documents, ledger entries and financial records inside. The ED in September filed a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to probe an instance of alleged infiltration and trafficking of some Bangladeshi women into Jharkhand leading to the generation of alleged slush funds.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders have accused the State Government of aiding such infiltration leading to the altering of the demographic landscape of the tribal-dominated areas of Santhal Pargana and Kolhan regions during the recent poll campaign. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday accused the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led coalition of converting Jharkhand into a ‘dharmashala’ for Rohingyas and Bangladeshi infiltrators.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced in Seraikela on Monday that a committee would be formed, if BJP is voted to power in Jharkhand, to identify and drive out infiltrators from the state besides reclaiming land grabbed by them. The first phase of the Assembly polls is slated for 43 constituencies on Wednesday, while the second for 38 seats will be held on November 20.
The ECIR (enforcement case information report) filed by the federal agency under various sections of the PMLA stems from a Jharkhand Police FIR filed at the Bariatu police station in the state capital Ranchi in June. The police FIR, filed on the complaint of a Bangladeshi woman who allegedly infiltrated into the country from along the India-Bangladesh border with the help of touts to find work, has named around six women as accused who were arrested following a raid at a local resort.
The FIR quoted the woman complainant saying they were trafficked into India from Bangladesh allegedly for prostitution by luring them in the name of getting a job in beauty salons. Earlier, ED sources had said the agency will investigate the “entire gamut” of infiltration from across the eastern borders, including Bangladesh, into Jharkhand including in the tribal districts of Santhal Pargana and Kolhan.
Prime Minister Modi, while addressing a poll rally a few months ago, accused the Jharkhand government of encouraging Bangladeshi and Rohingya infiltration for vote bank politics and criticised it for “rampant corruption”. The Union Government had informed the Jharkhand High Court that illegal Bangladeshi immigrants are living in the state. Reacting to the affidavit, JMM central spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said if there was infiltration in Jharkhand, the Union home and defence ministries should take responsibility for it.
