By Satyajeet Kumar: Jharkhand IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a land grab scam on Thursday, was produced before the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court on Friday. The ED has sought a 10-day remand for Chhavi Ranjan.
The remand has been demanded based on the substance and incriminating documents gathered by the probe agency against the accused.
Ranjan, a 2011-batch officer of the Jharkhand cadre, was questioned by the agency on April 13 as well, when searches were carried out at 21 locations in three states — Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal.
The ED has claimed that Chavvi Ranjan has grossly violated the norms to favour those who were in his proximity and allowed the mutation of premium plots that were purchased and sold on the basis of fraudulent and false proprietary papers.
In the special PMLA/CBI court headed by Judge Dinesh Rai, the ED levelled serious charges against Chhavi Ranjan and said that as the deputy commissioner of Ranchi during 2020-2022, he misused his official position and extended undue benefits to several land mafias for corresponding gains.
The probe agency further claimed that Chhavi Ranjan accepted a bribe of Rs 1 crore from accused people through Prem Prakash for unblocking one plot of land at Bargain Mauja from the restricted list.
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Besides this, he was paid cash of Rs 2 to Rs 2.5 lakh in different instalments from circle offices which were deposited to one of his close confidants.
The ED also informed the court that Chhavi Ranjan enjoyed joy trips to Goa and hospitality at Taj fort, arranged by a land mafia and businessman Vishnu Agarwal.
Ranjan had also verbally asked Circle Officer Manoj Kumar to do mutation of a parcel of one acre of land at Chesire Home Road in name of Bishnu Agarwal and his wife Anushree Agarwal, although there were existing disputes pending before the Circle office.
The forensic investigation of Bishnu Kumar Agarwal’s mobile phone revealed that he facilitated Chhavi Ranjan’s Goa trip, including an arrangement at Taj Fort Hotel at Aguada in Goa.
The arrangement was said to be done through a travel agent in order to conceal the manner of booking and the payment for this booking was paid in cash by Bishnu Kumar Agarwal’s staff to a travel agent in Delhi.
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The ED also claimed that Chhavi Ranjan helped Bishnu Kumar Agarwal in acquiring one non-saleable land at Ranchi’s Pugru Mouza in Namkum.
The ED has therefore demanded a remand of 10 days initially for the best interest of the investigation to further corroborate and establish the allegations.
The ED also claimed that during the searches conducted on April 13, 2023, several pieces of incriminating evidences in the form of documents, records, and digital devices were seized that indicate there was an organised group who were indulged in corrupt practices with land revenue offices and other highly placed bureaucrats and politicians.
