ED Conducts Raids at 20 Locations Linked to Jharkhand Minister’s Associates in Jal Jeevan Mission Case
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is conducting raids at 20 locations in Jharkhand on Monday, targeting associates of state Minister Mithilesh Thakur, including his personal secretary Harendra Singh, IAS officer Manish Ranjan, and businessman Vijay Agarwal.
These operations are part of an investigation into alleged irregularities related to the Jal Jeevan Mission. ED teams have been searching various sites in Ranchi and Chaibasa, including Agarwal’s residences on Ratu Road, Harmu, and Morhabadi, along with the homes of IAS officer Ranjan and Minister Thakur’s personal secretary Singh. Security forces have been deployed to facilitate the raids.
Several documents and electronic devices were reportedly seized during the searches. The investigation stems from complaints of corruption and discrepancies in the execution of the Jal Jeevan Mission across multiple districts in Jharkhand. FIRs have been registered in several cases, and the ED is expanding its inquiry based on these reports.
Mithilesh Thakur, a prominent figure in the Hemant Soren government representing the Garhwa Assembly constituency, may also come under scrutiny as the ED’s investigation deepens.
These raids follow previous actions over the weekend linked to a money laundering case involving a land scam. On October 8, the ED conducted searches in Ranchi, Dhanbad, and Patna, targeting various officials, including the Dhanbad District Transport Officer, and recovered numerous documents.
During a recent public meeting in Hazaribagh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed concerns over irregularities in the Jal Jeevan Mission, highlighting ongoing complaints about the implementation of the scheme and emphasizing the need for a thorough investigation.
The Central government’s Jal Jeevan Mission aims to provide safe drinking water through household tap connections, and assembly elections in the state are expected to be announced soon.
