The ED on Wednesday recovered two AK-47 assault rifles from the residence of middleman Prem Prakash, who is reportedly close to aides of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, in connection with an illegal mining and extortion case. The weapons were kept in an almirah at Prem Prakash's rented house in Harmu Housing Colony.
After the rifles were recovered, a team of Jharkhand Police reached the spot, claiming that the AK-47s belonged to Inspector Vinod Kumar. However, the ED said it would be handed over to the police only after the investigation was completed.
Later, the Office of Jharkhand CM objected to news reports linking Soren to the private individual against whom ED raids were conducted. The CMO said that all cooperation so far had been provided during all raids.
It has also stated that in case the Jharkhand government came across any further instances of media platforms putting out malicious reports and tweets/digital posts, it would be dealt with as per due legal provisions, ANI reported.
The ED raided multiple locations in Ranchi on Wednesday as part of its ongoing money laundering investigation into alleged illegal mining in the state. The federal probe agency will cover about 17-20 premises in Jharkhand, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Delhi-NCR as part of the operation, PTI reported.
The searches by ED were carried out after fresh information came to light following the questioning of Pankaj Mishra, a political aide of CM Hemant Soren, and Mishra's associate and muscleman Bachhu Yadav, PTI reported. Both Mishra and Yadav have been arrested by the ED.
The agency is probing the trail of Rs 100 crore of "proceeds of crime" generated from illegal mining operations in Jharkhand.
The ED began its probe after the agency raided Mishra and his aides on July 8. The ED conduccted searches at 19 locations in Sahibganj, Barhet, Rajmahal, Mirza Chauki and Barharwa in Jharkhand in connection with the case.
Following the raids, the ED seized funds amounting to Rs 13.32 crore from 50 bank accounts. The agency also seized one inland vessel worth Rs 30 crore, named MV Infralink-III, which was allegedly being used Mishra.
In March, the ED filed a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Mishra, alleging that he "illegally grabbed or amassed huge assets in his favour", PTI reported.
"The evidence collected during the course of the investigation, including the statements of various persons, digital evidence and documents, revealed that the seized cash or bank balance is derived from illegal mining being rampantly done in the Sahibganj area, including the forest area," the ED had said after the July raids.