LAGATAR24 NETWORK
Ranchi, Feb. 3: The Jharkhand High Court on Friday directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file a counter affidavit in the matter related to the bail petition of illegal stone mining accused Pankaj Mishra.
The court of Justice Gautam Kumar Choudhary fixed February 23 as the next date of hearing in the bail case. Pankaj Mishra was arrested in July last year by the ED in the stone mining scam to the tune of Rs. 1000 Crore and also filed a chargesheet against him. He is a senior JMM leader and the MLA representative of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
Earlier, the special PMLA court had rejected his bail petition in the wake of serious allegations against him. The ED also said that if released on bail he can influence the ongoing probe. The ED, in an affidavit filed before the Jharkhand High Court in Barharwa toll plaza case had disclosed that even in judicial custody he had tried to influence the probe.
Meanwhile, in another development, the court of Justice Gautam Kumar Choudhary posted the matter of Prem Prakash for hearing on February 17. Prem Prakash is also an accused in the illegal stone mining case along with Pankaj Mishra and he is currently lodged in Birsa Munda Central Jail. He had filed a criminal miscellaneous petition against his arresting and prosecution by the ED in this matter.
