The Enforcement Directorate has seized an inland vessel worth ₹30 crore in connection with a money laundering probe, linked to an illegal mining and extortion racket in Jharkhand.
The vessel named M.V. Infralink-III, was found during a search conducted on July 26. It was being operated illegally from Sukargarh Ghat in Sahebganj, at the behest of Rajesh Yadav, and in collusion with Pankaj Mishra, the MLA representative of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who was arrested earlier this month, according to the agency.
The vessel was being used for transporting the illegally mined stone chips and stone boulders. “A First Information Report (FIR) has been registered against its owner at the Muffasil police station under various provisions of the Bengal Ferries Act, 1885, and the Indian Penal Code,” said an official.
Earlier, the ED had impounded two illegally operated stone crushers of MaaAmba Stone Works operated by Bishnu Yadav and Pavitra Yadav, apart from three trucks found transporting illegally quarried stone chips/boulders in Sahebganj. In this regard, another FIR was lodged with the local police.
The agency said, that one illegal mine located in Sahebganj’s Mouza Simaria, operated by Bishnu Yadav and others, had been identified during the investigation. It alleged that mining in Mouza Simaria, exceeded far beyond the leased area. “The quantification of the excess illegal mining done at the above site, has been estimated to be about 37.5 million cubic feet...the processed value of the mined stone chips/boulders is about ₹45 crore,” the official said.
ED survey
Since July 25, an ED team has been carrying out a joint survey in coordination with the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board and other related agencies in Sahebganj, to identify the beneficiaries of illegal mining activities and trace the proceeds thereof.
In the same case, the agency had previously seized/frozen ₹13.32 crore lying in 50 bank accounts, ₹5.34 crore in unaccounted cash. Mr. Mishra is in the agency’s custody till August 1.
