ANS: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has initiated raids at 17 locations linked to Congress MLA Amba Prasad, including her residence in Ranchi, in connection with multiple cases involving money laundering, land disputes, illegal sand mining, and other offences.
The ED team simultaneously conducted raids at the residences of Congress MLA Amba Prasad and her relatives in Ranchi, Hazaribagh, and Ramgarh in Jharkhand on Tuesday morning. These actions are being carried out under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), sources said.
Amba Prasad represents the Barkagaon assembly seat in Hazaribagh district. The ED has launched simultaneous searches at around 17-18 premises in Ranchi and other cities of the state.
The ED has filed a series of FIRs related to alleged cases of illegal sand mining, extortion, and other criminal activities.
ED raids are also being conducted at the locations of Circle Officer (CO) Shashi Bhushan Singh, currently posted at Govindpur in Dhanbad. Singh, who was previously posted as Circle Inspector at Churchu in Hazaribagh and later promoted to Circle Officer, has faced allegations of corruption during his tenure in Hazaribagh and was subsequently transferred to Govindpur in Dhanbad.
The raids are underway at Amba Prasad’s residence in Ranchi and Barkagaon in Hazaribagh, CO Shashi Bhushan Singh’s residence in Hawaii Nagar, Ranchi, BJP worker Raju Sao’s residence in Keredari, Hazaribagh, as well as the residences of MLAs close aides Bindu Dangi and Rajendra Sahu in Hazaribagh.
According to ED sources, information regarding the cases against Amba Prasad and the charge sheets filed in various courts was requested by the agency about 10 months ago through a letter to the Jharkhand Police. This request was made following a complaint alleging her involvement in land and sand scams.
It is worth noting that Amba Prasad and her family members were also involved in a land dispute, which led to the demolition of the boundary wall of a particular piece of land by the district administration. Amba Prasad and her family are also accused of attempting to illegally capture government land in Hazaribagh.