The tug of war between State Government and Central agencies is to intensify further as today the Enforcement Directorate responded to the letter from Jharkhand government objecting to Hemant Soren government seeking information from agency about the ongoing money laundering probe and asking the agency to explain the reasons behind summons issued to some of the state government officials.
At the same time Governor CP Radhakrishnan rebutted the question that the law and order situation would deteriorate in the state from the Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) questioning of Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
The ED in its letter to State Government has also warned Cabinet Secretary Vandana Dadel that the action she has taken is illegal and an attempt to influence the probe.
The ED letter mentions that under the PML Act, the probe agency has also got the powers to prosecute and take action against any government officials. The ED investigator has informed Cabinet Secretary Vandana Dadel about the powers of the PML Act.
The ED has written that no order or instruction of the state government is applicable to the investigator of PML Act. ED investigators have the right to summon and ask for documents.
Anyone who interferes or influences the probe will be considered as guilty as the accused. There is a right to prosecute such a person under the PML Act. ED has asked Vandana Dadel to inform the name of the person on whose instructions she had issued the letter.
ED has written that the unsolicited instructions sent through him to the probe agency and DC of Sahibganj proves that the government has deliberately tried to influence the ongoing investigation in a sensitive case. This is a violation of the provisions contained in the PML Act.
Few days back, Cabinet Secretary Vandana Dadel, formally approached the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking clarification on the nature of crimes for which administrative and police officers are being summoned. Expressing surprise and concern over raids conducted at government premises without prior notification and the subsequent issuance of summons to officials, the government is keen to understand the specific offenses under scrutiny.
The move follows raids carried out on January 3 at the residences of the Deputy Commissioner of Sahibganj and the jail warden. Subsequently, summons were dispatched to the concerned officials, summoning them for questioning. In response, the Principal Secretary of the Government, Vandana Dadel, undertook a comprehensive review of the summonses and sought legal opinion before dispatching the letter to the ED.
Meanwhile, in another development the governor, after attending the ICFAI University convocation here on Wednesday, said that the questioning of the chief minister by the ED would not impact the law and order situation.
“The ED is doing its duty, and the chief minister has to give the right answer. In such a situation, the question of deteriorating law and order does not arise. No one is above the law. So, there is no matter of law and order,” said Governor CP Radhakrishnan.
The ED is scheduled to interrogate Chief Minister Hemant Soren at his official residence on January 20 regarding the Ranchi land scam.
Media persons had asked for a reaction from the governor in the wake of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) general secretary and spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya’s comment that the people of the state are angry with the ED and the law and order problem it would create in the state from its action.
Meanwhile, coal trader Ezhar Ansari, who was arrested by ED on Tuesday, was today produced in the Special PMLA Court in Ranchi. The court has granted six days of his custody to the ED. He was found guilty of the Prevention of Money Laundering (Act (PMLA), 2002 in a coal linkage misuse case. The ED investigation revealed that Md Ezhar Ansari has misused the coal linkage policy under which subsidised coal used to be allotted to small & medium enterprises (SME) for captive consumption.
Around 86,568 tonnes of coal having a market value of Rs 71 Crore was allotted to 13 such SME firms of Ezhar Ansari. However, instead of using it for captive consumption, he diverted and sold the coal in the open market and generated an equal amount of Proceeds of Crime. The Investigation further revealed that these 13 firms/entities have been found to be non-operational/shell entities.