RAJ KUMAR
Ranchi, Aug.26: The Prevention of Money Laundering Act special court today sent an accused of laundering money earned by illegal business of mining involving Rs 1000 crore, Sunil Yadav, in 14-day judicial custody at Birsa Munda Central Jail.
The ED with the help of the Jharkhand police arrested him on Friday evening from his residence at Shobhanpur Bhatta in Sahibganj. He was produced before the court today.
Sunil is brother of another ED accused Dahu Yadav, who is known as a muscleman involved in the illegal mining and allied business. The court had issued an arrest warrant against the Yadav brothers 10 months ago. It is being alleged that Yadav brothers in association with Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s MLA representative Pankaj Mishra, now an accused of illegal mining, was indulged in illegal transportation and illegal ship operation on the Ganga River in Sahibganj.
Dahu Yadav is also accused of wrongly running the steamer of M/s Infralink Logistics Private Limited. The ED had seized Infralink’s steamer in connection with the accident and illegal stone chips transportation on March 23, 2022. The steamer was run under the supervision of Dahu Yadav and his brother Sunil Yadav. It is alleged Yadav brothers used to extort Rs 500 per truck for Pankaj Mishra from the trucks carrying stone chips with the help of steamers.
Dahu Yadav and his brother Sunil Yadav had been absconding after a warrant was issued against them. Several attempts were made to arrest them but each time they remained successful in dodging the police. In the past, on the orders of the ED court, police had attached Dahu Yadav’s property but despite that, Dahu Yadav and Sunil Yadav were at large.
Yesterday the ED got intelligence and concrete information after which an arrest could be possible with the help of police. Recently, the Supreme Court also rejected Dahu Yadav’s anticipatory bail plea and ordered him to surrender before the ED.