V NARADA
Ranchi, April 9: The Sahibganj police have lodged an FIR against one Rakesh Ranjan of Godda district for illegally conducting stone mining at Lohandamako under Borio police station.
Rakesh Ranjan is said to be the brother of Alok Ranjan who is very close to Jharkhand CM’s MLA representative Pankaj Mishra. The FIR was lodged by district mining officer Bibhuti Kumar based on a field investigation done by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) which is investigating the illegal stone mining scam. Notably, the ED, a couple of days back, had carried out a surprise inspection of different mining sites in Sahibganj and found traces of illegal mining.
Investigation revealed that Rakesh Ranjan owns Vandana Stone Works having a mining lease covering 6.74 acres in point number 3 P, 4 P, 5 P, 8 P and 107 P. The lease is valid for a period of 10 years expiring in December 2025. But he conducted illegal mining on more than two acres.
The illegal mining damaged the environment, caused pollution and also resulted in a loss of revenue. The FIR was lodged under section 379 and 175 of the IPC and sections of Jharkhand Mineral (Prevention of Illegal Mining) Transportation and Storge Rule 2017 and others.
Notably, the Sahibganj police also lodged an FIR against Vishnu Yadav alias Chhotu Yadav for illegally conducting stone mining in Sahibganj.
The FIR was lodged at the Jirwabari police station under section 3, 4 and 5 of the Explosive Substance Act, section 175, 379 and 414 of the IPC besides Jharkhand Mineral (Prevention of Illegal Mining) Transportation and Storage Rules 2017. But district administration did not name Pankaj Mishra in the FIR despite a categorial mention of his name in the report of the ED.
