ED arrests Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren’s aide in money laundering case
India Today
The Enforcement Directorate has arrested Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s MLA representative Pankaj Mishra for money laundering.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s MLA representative Pankaj Mishra on Tuesday for money laundering.
Earlier, on July 8, the probe agency had raided 18 locations in Jharkhand linked to Soren’s aide Pankaj Mishra and his business associates.
The raids were conducted in connection with an alleged tender scam in which a local trader, Shambhu Bhagat, was assaulted, allegedly at the behest of Mishra. This was apparently to prevent Bhagat from participating in a toll plaza tendering process.
The ED took over the probe after preliminary investigations hinted at money laundering and purported links between illegal coal mining operatives and those involved in toll plaza tenders in Jharkhand.
Also read: ED claims Rs 100 crore unearthed in Jharkhand in illegal mining case has links with politicians
Mishra owns a mining lease in the name of Mahakal Stone Works. Though the said mine is yet to become operative, he allegedly wields tremendous clout with mining department officials owing to his perceived proximity with chief minister Soren.
When the ED started its probe by conducting raids in May on the premises of then mining secretary Pooja Singhal and her alleged associates, it was all in connection with the IAS officer’s alleged involvement in a 2008 case of swindling of MGNREGA funds in Kunti district.
