Jharkhand illegal mining case: ED recovers 2 AK rifles, bullets from Ranchi house; our weapons: police

The federal probe agency raided about 17-20 premises in Jharkhand, neighbouring Bihar, Tamil Nadu and the Delhi-NCR as part of the operation.

Even as there was no official statement from the ED on the seizure, pictures of two assault rifles and ammunition was widely circulated on social media, after which Jharkhand Police issued a statement, claiming that the AK rifles and ammunition recovered from the house belong to them.

As per a press release issued by Ranchi SSP Kaushal Kishore, two constables were returning from duty on August 23 evening and since it was raining, they kept the rifles with an acquaintance. “They kept their rifles and ammunition in an almirah, locked it and took the keys with them. Today morning (August 24) when they went to pick the weapons, they couldn’t since a raid was going on. A letter has been sent to the ED to get the arms and ammunition back. The two constables have been suspended and an investigation is on,” the release stated.

Earlier, BJP’s Godda MP Nishikant Dubey said in a tweet that Prakash is an “associate of Jharkhand CM and his family friend Amit Agarwal” and that his (Prakash’s) links should be investigated by the NIA.

Meanwhile, the office of Chief Minister Hemant Soren issued a media release stating that it has taken a “strong objection” to the manner in which certain media platforms reported the ED raid at Prakash’s house in Ranchi and other places in the country.

“Certain reports by media platforms, including a few national TV news channels, point to a misleading ploy and attempt to intentionally link the Jharkhand CM to a private individual…without any legitimate reason or evidence as per law. This is in violation of the dignity of the public office of a CM,” the release said.

It further stated that the Jharkhand government completely “supports the freedom of the Press” but the “sinister designs” will be dealt as per law. The CMO said that Jharkhand has been cooperating fully with the agency in its investigation.

On May 11, the ED had arrested then mining secretary Pooja Singhal and recovered more than Rs 18 crore in cash. The agency had also arrested Soren’s aide Pankaj Mishra and froze Rs 13.32 crore lying in multiple bank accounts. It had had seized an inland vessel which was allegedly being operated illegally from Sukargarh Ghat in Sahebganj at the behest of one Rajesh Yadav, alias Dahu Yadav, in collusion with Mishra and others for transporting illegally mined stones.

(With PTI inputs)