The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday seized two AK-47 rifles from a house in Ranchi, belonging to Prem Prakash, an alleged middleman involved in dubious deals in the State, during raids as part of an ongoing probe into an alleged mining scam pegged at `100 crore. The probe agency also recovered 69 cartridges.
The news of recovery of the weapons from Prakash, who is said to be close to the people in the corridors of power in both the present and previous Governments, spread like wildfire. The BJP left no time in attacking the JMM-led Government. BJP MP from Godda Nishikant Dubey tweeted, “According to sources, @dir_ed has recovered AK 47 from the premises of Prem Prakash ji, who is the kingpin of Jharkhand’s touts… @NIA_India should take up the investigation.”
However, as the news of recovery of sophisticated guns from Prakash spread, the Ranchi Police sprang into action claiming that the guns belong to Ranchi Police.
In a press release, the police stated that cops who were allotted weapons had kept their weapons locked in an almirah at the residence of Prakash for the safety and protection of the weapons as they were caught in rains.
Apart from raids at Prakash’s residence, the raids were also conducted at 20 locations in State and across the country such as Bihar, Tamil Nadu, and the Delhi-NCR. Sources said that while the ED is looking into the money-laundering angle, the case is primarily for illegal mining and extortion.
Sources said that Prakash is alleged to be deeply connected with the who’s who of previous NDA Government and the current UPA Government in Jharkhand. In the ongoing MGNREGA and illegal mining scam, the ED is investigating his role and he was also summoned for questioning.
The Ranchi police claimed that on August 23 both the cops were returning from duty when they were caught in the rain. They were acquainted with a staff of Prakash hence they kept their weapons there in an almirah, locked it, and returned along with the key.
The police further stated that on Wednesday (August 24) when they went there the ED officials were carrying out raids, hence, they could not collect their weapons. The Ranchi police further stated that both the cops informed their seniors about this and cops have been put under suspension. Further, the Ranchi police have requested the ED to return the weapons and bullets.
Sources said that the theory put up by Ranchi police is loosely threaded as per standard procedure that if a cop on duty is allotted any weapon, he will have to deposit it either at the police line or the police station. In this case, the nearest police station from Prakash’s residence is Argora.
Moreover, in another development the ED on Wednesday carried out a search on the premises of Ranchi-based Chartered Accountant Shiv Shankar Jaipuriar. His premise is situated at C-218, Road No.2 of Ashok Nagar. As per the information, the ED began the raid on the basis of information provided by Pankaj Mishra.