VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, July 19: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday finally arrested Pankaj Mishra on the charges of money laundering after hour-long questioning. Pankaj Mishra is the MLA representative of Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and the ED is investigating his role as a prime member of the illegal mining syndicate in Santhal Pargana. On Tuesday he appeared for the first time before the ED for questioning. Agency sources said that he was arrested as he was not cooperating with the probe and was evading replies.
Pankaj Mishra is the third catch of the ED in the ongoing money laundering investigation after IAS and mining secretary Pooja Singhal and her chartered accountant Suman Singh who were arrested in May.
Pankaj Mishra is set to be taken to the special PMLA court of Prabhat Kumar Sharma for his production. Notably, the ED seized cash Rs 11.88 Crore of Pankaj Mishra and his associates namely Dahu Yadav and others.