ED grills DSP but fails to get reply on how he gave clean chit to minister, Jharkhand CM’s aide within 24 hrs
VIJAY
Ranchi,
March 6
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday questioned Jharkhand Police DSP Pramod Mishra about the Barharwa toll plaza case which the ED is investigating as part of an illegal stone mining case to the tune of Rs. 1000 Crore.
According to sources, the DSP could not give any satisfactory reply as to how he gave clean chit to minister Alamgir Alam and Pankaj Mishra (MLA representative of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren) within 24 hours of the FIR being lodged by complainant Shambhu Nandan Kumar.
The ED asked him to explain as to why he did not examine digital evidence against them and whether he was under any pressure to give a clean chit to Mishra and Alamgir Alam. As a DSP posted at Barharwa in 2020 he must be saddled with a large number of cases to supervise. But the investigation of this FIR he supervised and finalized so quickly indicating he was acting on instruction of some higher ups. Pramod Mishra remained unable to reply to such questions.
The ED during questioning asked him to furnish details of his personal and ancestral properties as well as his family members and details of their income.
Pramod Mishra appeared for questioning at the ED zonal office in Ranchi on Monday after a legal showdown with the ED.
Notably, when the ED earlier summoned Pramod Mishra he filed a writ petition to challenge authority of the ED to question him in the matter of the investigation of a case which the police had earlier lodged and investigated.
The Jharkhand High Court granted him protection against his probable arrest by the ED and directed him to appear before the ED for his questioning. The order was passed by the court of Justice S. Chandrasekhar.
Notably, the ED on February 28 sent him a third summons and directed him to appear for questioning on March 6. The ED wants to question him about the 2020 Barharwa toll plaza auction case where the FIR was lodged by businessman Shambhu Nandan Kumar at Barharwa police station in Sahibganj. He had alleged state minister Alamgir Alam and Pankaj Mishra (MLA representative of Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren) for threatening and assaulting him as he refused their order not to participate in the tender.
Pramod Mishra did not examine forensic evidence as Pankaj Mishra used the mobile phone of the minister to threaten the complainant. Even the Jharkhand High Court had made a strong observation.
The Barharwa case is the basis of the illegal stone mining investigation of the ED in which the agency arrested Pankaj Mishra as the kingpin of the scam. The ED suspects that Pramod Mishra as the DSP had given protection to the illegal stone mining. An audio of a police official with a private person had surfaced where the said official was talking about the role of Pramod Mishra. The ED wants to question him this also.
The ED earlier questioned Jharkhand police ASI Sarfuddin Khan who was the investigating officer in this case.
