VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, Sept 21: The special PMLA court of Prabhat Kumar Sharma on Wednesday took cognizance of the prosecution complaint filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against Pankaj Mishra, Prem Prakash and Bacchu Yadav in the illegal mining case to the tune of more than Rs. 1000 Crore in this case.
The ED has stated that it has identified illegal properties of Pankaj Mishra worth Rs 42 Crore. The court has fixed September 30 as the next date of hearing when accused persons will be provided with police papers. All three accused are currently lodged at Birsa Munda Central Jail.
Pankaj Mishra is the MLA representative of Chief Minister Hemant Soren whereas Prem Prakash is a powerbroker linked to several bureaucrats and politicians. Bacchu Yadav is a notorious criminal of Sahibganj who is an aide of Pankaj Mishra.
In this case the ED so far carried 47 raids and searches across the country and cash to the tune of Rs. 5.34 Crore were seized. The ED besides it froze bank balances amounting to Rs. 13.32 Crore. The ED has also seized an inland vessel, as many as five stone crushers, two Hyva trucks, besides many incriminating documents along with two AK 47 Assault Rifles.
While the investigation is still going on, the ED has charged them for committing money laundering worth over Rs 100 Crore mainly through illegal stone mining. The ED has termed Pankaj Mishra as a main handler of illegal mining in Sahibganj who operated in tandem with officials, private individuals and many such important persons.
About Prem Prakash, the ED stated that he actively connived with the accused and several suspects in the laundering. Besides, he made money out of wheeling and dealing that comes under the purview of money laundering.
