VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, July 26: The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Abhishek Prasad alias Pintu to join its probe in the Jharkhand illegal mining scam. Abhishek Prasad is the media advisor of Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren and he has been closely associated with him for the last many years.
He has been asked to appear before the ED team on August 1.
Earlier, the ED arrested Hemant Soren’s MLA representative Pankaj Mishra for running a syndicate of illegal mining in districts of Santhal Pargana. He was arrested on July 19 and taken on police remand. Sources said that during the questioning Pankaj Mishra admitted that Abhishek Prasad used to instruct him and he (Abhishek Prasad) also controlled the entire affair. However, Pankaj Mishra so far is said to have not named any top politician as the beneficiary of the illegal mining but he has certainly named Abhishek Prasad.
Abhishek Prasad is known as a close confidant of Chief Minister Hemant Soren and his family and he is said to be enjoying control in the administrative matter. During the Raghubar Das government, a stone mining lease was issued in his name. Shiv Shankar Sharma who filed a PIL against Hemant Soren, Basant Soren and others named him also. The petitioner alleged that Sorens and their associates invested and diverted their unaccounted money through various shell companies.
