VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, April 7: After the Ranchi Police failed to make any breakthrough in the sensational horse-trading case, which was lodged last year, the Enforcement Directorate is now examining the matter whether it can be investigated from a money laundering point of view.
All the three accused of this case, who are private persons and arrested on July 24 last year, are on bail as the police failed to submit any chargesheet against them before the special the Anti-Corruption Bureau court. The police had also invoked various provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act against named and unnamed accused persons.
Well-placed sources said the Enforcement Directorate obtained necessary documents and is now examining whether or not any scheduled offence was committed which the Ranchi police missed out or ignored. Nevertheless, given the poor investigation by the predicate agency (Ranchi police) it would be very challenging for the Enforcement Directorate. But since the case has been booked under sections of the PC Act and the complainant is an MLA the ED has decided for a relook in the case.
In July last year, the Ranchi police arrested Amit Singh and Nivaran Prasad Mahto (both natives of Bokaro) and Abhishek Kumar Dubey, a native of Palamu district for hatching a conspiracy to topple the Hemant Soren government. However, they have a nondescript background as Singh is a contractual worker, Mahto a fruit seller and Dubey is an unemployed engineering graduate.
They were arrested from Hotel Le Lac Sarovar of Ranchi. It was claimed that Dubey in his confessional statement given before the police revealed that he along with other accused and three MLAs had boarded a Delhi-bound flight on July 15 and returned on the next day. They stayed at Hotel Vivanta and the meeting of MLAs with several BJP leaders was arranged. They claimed to have met the BJP MLAs from Maharashtra Chandrashekhar Rao Babankule and Charan Singh.
But the police remained tight-lipped about the MLAs who visited Delhi. But it was later disclosed that Congress’ Irfan Ansari and Uma Shankar Akela along with independent MLA Amit Yadav had visited Delhi.
It was said that Dubey in his confessional statement had revealed that one Maharashtra-based person Jaikumar Belkhede had arranged logistics for them. It was claimed that in order to allure more MLAs of the ruling alliance, Jaikumar, Mohit Bhartiya and Ashutosh Thakkar came to Ranchi and stayed at the hotel. Four rooms were booked for them. But in the meantime, Congress MLA from Bermo Jaimangal Singh came to know about their suspicious activities and informed the police. A case was lodged against them at the Kotwali police station.
