VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, Nov 13: The Sahibganj police have arrested one Vijay Hansda under sections of the Arms Act and the IPC. Hansda is a witness of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in an illegal stone mining case worth Rs 1000 crore. The police also arrested his son Manoj Hansda.
A native of Bhawani Chowki under Jirwabari police station of the district, the police arrested him on the charge of threatening villagers at gunpoint. The district police is said to have arrested them along with fire weapons and bullets. An FIR 286/22 has been lodged against them. It is said that both have a criminal history.
Incidentally, Vijay Hansda is a witness of the ED against Pankaj Mishra and others and the ED had taken up for investigation one of the complaints which Vijay Hansda had lodged against Pankaj Mishra and others.
Coincidentally, on July 30, the Sahibganj police had arrested stone mining businessman Prakash Chandra Yadav from Ranchi in an Arms Act case. His son Ankush Kumar Yadav is also a witness of the agency in the illegal stone mining case. Later, Prakash Chandra Yadav was booked under the Crime Control Act and sent to Sahibganj jail. The CCA against him was also approved by the review committee.
Vijay Hansda had lodged a complaint regarding illegal stone mining at Nimbu Hills. Notably, Pankaj Mishra who is the MLA representative of Chief Minister Hemant Soren is among the named accused in the case.
Vijay Hansda of Bhavani Chowki who is the complainant said villagers first approached the district police, but the FIR was not accepted due to the political influence of the accused persons. Later, he filed an online FIR (complaint number 120602) in the month of May at the Jharkhand Police website. But when no action was taken, he filed a court complaint.
Nimbu Pahad is situated near Jhagdu Chowki under the Jirwawari police station area of Sahibganj district. The complaint has been lodged against Vishnu, Pavitra, Rajesh, Sanjay, Bacchu, and Shubhesh besides Pankaj Mishra.
Narrating the incident, the complainant said that villagers were fed up with constant illegal mining as continuous day and night blasting damaged their houses and it was difficult to live in a polluted environment.
Hence on the night of May 2, the complainant along with other tribal villagers went to the mining site when the mining was going on. Vijay Hansda has claimed that all the accused were present at the place and when asked to stop mining he was assaulted and abused by the accused persons. The complainant alleged that the district mining department and the district administration were informed in the past about illegal mining activity at Nimbu Pahad but no action was taken.
The ED, in the chargesheet, has referred to his statement. “Guddu Yadav, Chhotu Yadav, Pankaj Mishra (MLA representative) have setup 03 big crushers at Marikuti Mauja, Sahibganj for illegally mined stones. He further alleges that the above 03 persons abused him and brandished guns at him and gave life threatening statements when he along with some villagers mustered some courage to oppose the illegal mining which was happening near their houses at government land. He also stated that the illegal mining process is provided support even by the local police. He also filed an online complaint regarding the above incident that he could not follow up due to fear and threat.”
