ED uncovers Rs. 250 crore sand mining scam in Bihar
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) unearthed a Rs. 250 crore illegal sand mining scam involving two private firms in Bihar. The agency raided 27 locations related to the firms in Bihar, Jharkhand, and West Bengal and seized Rs. 1.5 crore cash and property documents worth Rs. 11 crore. The probe against Broadson Commodities and Aditya Multicom was initiated based on FIRs by the Bihar Police.
Why does this story matter?
The ED reportedly conducted raids on the premises of seven businessmen on Monday in connection with illegal sand mining. It also raided the premises of Janata Dal (United) MLC Radhacharan Seth and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Subhash Yadav—considered close to Lalu Prasad Yadav—in Bihar. Opposition parties have often accused the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of using central agencies to harass political rivals.
60 bank accounts frozen, FD worth Rs. 6 crore seized
The ED sleuths froze 60 bank accounts related to both firms and seized fixed deposits amounting to Rs. 6 crore. The action came after Bihar's mining department complained against both firms and their directors for illegally extracting sand and selling it without using the departmental pre-paid transportation. This reportedly caused a revenue loss of Rs. 250 crore to the government exchequer.
Premises of firm's directors, CAs raided
The ED said, "The search operation has resulted in the discovery of cash, incriminating documents like sale deeds of properties purchased, FDRs (fixed deposit receipts) in the names of companies and their directors." The searches were carried out at the premises belonging to the firms, their directors, and chartered accountants in Patna, Jharkhand's Dhanbad and Hazaribagh, and Kolkata.
Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren also on ED's radar
Notably, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren is on the ED's radar in an office-for-profit case in which he allegedly extended a stone quarry mining lease to himself. Last year, the agency also arrested IAS officer Pooja Singhal, who was serving as the Jharkhand mining secretary before being suspended in connection with a money laundering case. Her businessman husband is under the ED's scanner too.
Manipur DGP's brother's residence also searched
The businessmen whose premises were searched in Dhanbad include Jagnarayan Singh, Surinder Jindal, Ashok Jindal, Punj Singh, TP Singh, and Ritesh Sharma. In Hazaribagh, the residence of Sanjay Singh, elder brother of Rajiv Singh—the DGP of violence-hit Manipur—was searched.
