LAGATAR24 NETWORK
Ranchi, March 17: The Jharkhand High Court on Thursday directed the State government to file a counter affidavit in the wake of a petition filed by Sahibganj resident Vijay Hansda who has demanded a CBI inquiry into the illegal stone mining.
A single bench of Justice Sanjay Dwivedi also directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file a reply in this case.
Vijay Hansda was represented by senior advocate Parth Jalan. He had filed a criminal writ petition 665/2022 to demand a CBI inquiry into the illegal stone mining. Besides, he also alleged the state government of highhandedness in implicating him in a false case and getting him arrested.
The ED is investigating a bunch of illegal stone mining cases, including the complaint which Vijay Hansda had lodged against Pankaj Mishra (MLA representative of Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren), mining officer Bibhuti Kumar and others for illegally carrying illegal mining on Nimbu Pahad.
Vijay Hansda is a witness of the ED and he is currently in jail in Sahibganj in arms act related case.
Notably, Vijay Hansda had lodged an online FIR against Pankaj Mishra and others for assaulting and abusing him when he protested illegal mining done by them. But when the FIR was not registered by the police, he approached the Rajmahal court which on July 7 last year directed the local police station. But the FIR was not taken up and, in the meantime, the Sahibganj police arrested him in a separate case. Lately when questions were raised on the intention of the local police, the Dumka range DIG claimed that Vijay Hansda in writing had withdrawn the complaint as false hence the FIR was not lodged despite the court order. But within a couple of days Vijay Hansda issued a written clarification and denied that he withdrew his complaint. He said the police had forcefully taken his signature on plain papers and the same were used against him.
Vijay Hansda claimed that the Sahibganj police had threatened him of lodging a complaint against Pankaj Mishra and he was later implicated in a false criminal case.
The district police arrested him along with his son Manoj Hansda under sections of the IPC and the Arms Act for allegedly threatening villagers. The police claimed to have recovered fire weapons and some bullets from their possession.
