Ranchi, Jan 15 (PTI) A team of the Ranchi Police on Thursday morning turned up at the zonal office of the Enforcement Directorate here in connection with a complaint of assault against ED officials, sources said.
A former employee of the state’s drinking water and sanitation department had lodged a complaint at Ranchi’s airport police station on January 12, alleging that he was “thrashed” by ED officials during interrogation into an alleged water supply scam.
A police team, including a DSP-rank officer and airport police station in-charge, arrived at the ED office here to conduct an investigation into the matter, the sources said.
The Ranchi Police, however, has not yet issued any official statement on it.
The development comes close on the heels of the confrontation between the West Bengal Police and ED officials, after the probe agency conducted searches at the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC and the residence of its chief Pratik Jain, amid allegations of forced entry and theft of documents.
On the condition of anonymity, an officer of Ranchi Police said they were scrutinising CCTV footage of the ED office here in view of the assault allegations.
CISF personnel have been deployed near the ED office to boost security, the sources said.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition in Jharkhand Assembly, Babulal Marandi, alleged that under the guise of police action at the central probe agency’s office, attempts could be made to tamper with and destroy crucial evidence pertaining to cases involving Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
“Information has been received that the ED’s regional office located on Airport Road in Ranchi is being surrounded by @ranchipolice. The ED office contains important evidence related to thousands of crores of rupees in corruption cases involving Chief Minister @HemantSorenJMM.
“There is apprehension that under the guise of police action, tampering with or destruction of these crucial pieces of evidence may be attempted,” Marandi said in a post on X.
In January 2024, Soren had lodged a police complaint against senior ED personnel at the SC/ST police station here over searches conducted by the agency at his Delhi residence in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.
Soren claimed that the ED conducted the searches to “harass and malign him and his entire community”, according to the FIR.
The CM was questioned by the ED as part of an investigation into a “huge racket of illegal change of land ownership by the mafia” in Jharkhand.
It later prayed for a CBI probe before the Jharkhand High Court into allegations levelled by Soren that a section of ED officers violated provisions of the SC/ST Act.
“My family members and I have suffered and experienced immense mental, psychological and emotional harm because of the acts committed…,” Soren stated in the FIR.
The matter is pending before court. PTI SAN NAM RBT
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