A week after JD(U) severed ruling ties with RJD and returned to the BJP camp to form an NDA government in Bihar, party MLC Rada Charan Sah — popularly known as Radha Charan Seth — was subjected to Enforcement Directorate action on Tuesday. The MLC’s properties worth ₹26 crore were attached by the investigation agency under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in an alleged sand mining scam.
Mr. Seth, 67, has been in ED custody since September 2023. It was said that he had been allegedly involved in illegal sand mining in the State and had minted huge money.
Hailing from Ara (district headquarters of Bhojpur), Mr. Seth started out as a helper in his father’s sweet shop in the 1970s. His job was to make jalebis and sell them outside the Ara railway station. He later grew to own several hotels, resorts, rice mils and cold storage units in Bihar and other States such as Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh as well. This reportedly led him to be elected as an MLC from the Bhojpur-Buxar Local Authority Constituency — first from RJD and then from JD(U) in the 2022 elections. He was also made JD(U)‘s State general secretary for local bodies.
“The illegal sale of sand and its mining were mainly controlled by a syndicate and Radha Charan Sah, being a syndicate member, generated huge proceeds of crime and these were layered and laundered with the assistance of his son Kanhaiya Sah”, the ED said in a statement on Tuesday. The agency was said to have accused Mr. Sah of using the proceeds of crime for the acquisition and development of a resort in Manali and construction of a school in Ghaziabad.
In September 2023, the ED conducted searches at premises linked to the MLC and later arrested him from his farmhouse in Anaith. However, soon after his arrest, Mr. Sah complained of some health issues and was taken to a local hospital for a medical check-up. In May that year, ED conducted searches at 21 locations linked to Mr. Sah and his associates. In February, the Income-Tax department also carried out similar searches in connection with the alleged tax evasion worth several crore rupees.
In August 2023, ED sent a notice to the MLC and his son in the illegal sand mining case. A chargesheet was filed against them in November.
No political meaning: JD(U)
Meanwhile, the JD(U) has reportedly dissociated itself from action against its party MLC and the attachment of his properties. “Mr. Sah and his son Kanhaiya Sah have been facing ED cases for a while now and the investigating agency attaching their property is part of their investigation and judicial process. There is no political meaning into it,” said the party’s national spokesperson, Rajib Ranjan.
The JD(U)‘s reaction had been quite different when Mr. Sah was arrested last year, when the party was still part of the grand alliance. Party leader Shrawan Kumar had accused the BJP government at the Center of adopting “different yardsticks” for the leaders of the BJP and other parties in investigation by Central agencies.
This time around, while some JD(U) leaders have chosen to keep mum on the issue, a few others — on the condition of anonymity — said, “Why does the ED not conduct search operations and arrest politicians from other parties?”
“Some of the Maharashtra politicians too have been under ED’s scanner but no action is being taken by the investigating agencies against them,” they pointed out.
