The Enforcement Directorate raided multiple premises linked to the Jharkhand finance minister's son and others in a liquor scam-linked money laundering case on Wednesday. The investigation agency raided the premises of Rohit Oraon, son of Jharkhand Minister Rameshwar Oraon, in connection with a liquor scam. Raids are going on at multiple locations, including Ranchi, Dumka, and Deoghar, the news agency ANI reported, citing sources.
About 34 premises in state capital Ranchi, Dumka, Deoghar and Godda districts are being covered by the officials of the central probe agency along with a security cover of the CRPF, as reported by PTI. The premises of the senior Oraon are being covered as the father and the son live at the same location. Business and residential premises of some liquor businessmen are also being covered, they said.
Rameshwar Oraon, 76, represents the Lohardaga (ST) assembly seat of the state that he won on a Congress ticket. He holds the charge of finance, planning and commercial tax in the Jharkhand cabinet led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren. Rameshwar Oraon has earlier served as a Union cabinet minister too under the then prime minister Manmohan Singh and is a retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the 1972 batch. The current investigation is being conducted under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said.
Earlier, the ED raided the premises of former Minister and CPI(M) MLA AC Moideen and a few others in connection with an alleged fraud of Rs 100 crore in party-controlled Karuvannur cooperative bank since 2010. The ED is raiding over six places linked to the MLA and others in the state under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) said official sources as per PTI. The raids follow after Kerala Police (crime branch) have also registered 16 FIRs in connection with the case.