VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, Sept 13: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is likely to initiate the process for the transfer of Jharkhand High court advocate Rajiv Kumar from Alipore jail in Kolkata to Birsa Munda Central Jail in Ranchi.
The ED after getting the bail order may approach the concerned jail to bring him to Ranchi in judicial custody. Now onward, he will be treated under custody of the ED till the time he secures bail from the special PMLA court in Ranchi. For the purpose of the investigation, questioning and trial, it will be convenient for the ED to keep him in a jail in Jharkhand rather than in a jail in Kolkata. Earlier, the ED took him to Ranchi from Kolkata for his questioning in police remand.
Rajiv Kumar on Monday got bail from 4th Special Court at Bankshall in Kolkata in an extortion case lodged by Kolkata based businessman Amit Agrawal. While Kolkata police are already investigating, the ED also took up investigation of that extortion case and an ECIR was filed at Ranchi zonal office of the agency.
He was arrested on charge of extorting money from Kolkata-based businessman Amit Agrawal for not implicating his name in a shell company related PIL 4290/21. The said PIL was filed by Shiv Shankar Sharma and Rajiv Kumar was his advocate. Chief Minister Hemant Soren was the respondent in the PIL which is now pending before the Supreme Court.
The Kolkata police claimed that Rajiv Kumar was arrested along with Rs 50 Lakh cash he extorted from Amit Agrawal. The Kolkata police alleged that Rajiv Kumar along with his petitioner used to file PILs to extort money from different persons.
