Ranchi: JMM leader Antu Tirkey has been arrested by the Enforcement Directors along with three others in alleged land scam in the intervening night of Teusday and Wednesday. The arrests come barely 2.5 months after the arrest of Jharkhand’s ex-chief minister Hemant Soren.
The ED conducted raids against Tirkey, Priyaranjan Sahay, real estate trader Vipin Singh, and Irshad on Tuesday. After that, they were taken to the ED office in Ranchi late at night for questioning and then placed under arrest. Former JMM National Committee member Antu Tirkey had left the party in 2019 after failing to secure an assembly election ticket. However, he returned to the JMM fold in 2022.
The ED on March 30 filed a charge sheet against Hemant Soren, Prasad, and two others in the case and sought to confiscate the 8.86-acre land that was allegedly acquired by forgery.
Afshar Ali, who was allegedly involved in forging documents to usurp large tracts of land in Jharkhand, was arrested on Tuesday. According to the chargesheet, he is alleged to have committed the crime with Hemant Soren and former state Revenue Department Sub-Inspector Bhanu Pratap Prasad.
The chargesheet also revealed that Prasad is the prime accused in the case had misused his position in the Revenue Department to help Soren and others illegally acquire, occupy, and possess the plots. The ED said that a forgery racket is active in Jharkhand.
Earlier on January, the investigating agency had arrested former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in the same land scam case. ED is investigating a case against Soren related to acquiring 8.86 acres of land in Ranchi. ED alleges that the former Chief Minister had illegally got this land transferred to his name.
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