Ranchi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched searches at 16 locations in Jharkhand and Bihar on Tuesday as part of an investigation into an alleged money laundering case tied to a significant land scam involving 117 acres of forest land in Bokaro.
The raids began early in the morning and targeted areas in Ranchi, Bokaro, and Ramgarh in Jharkhand, as well as select locations in Bihar. This operation is part of the ED’s ongoing inquiry into illegal land transactions and the suspected laundering of proceeds from the sale and purchase of forest land.
The case was initially registered earlier this year at the Sector-12 police station in Bokaro and concerns the alleged illegal transfer and sale of approximately 117 acres of forest land. The investigation was first undertaken by the Jharkhand CID, which uncovered major irregularities.
The Jharkhand Police’s Crime Investigation Department (CID) was also looking into the 2022 forest land scam and discovered that 74.38 acres of land belonging to the Forest Department in Bokaro had been unlawfully allotted to a private company by administrative officials.
CID findings suggest that a land mafia, allegedly in collusion with some members of Bokaro Steel Limited (BSL), manipulated land records. It was found that BSL had not appropriately transferred the land to the Forest Department, creating loopholes that the accused exploited for illegal transactions.
Due to these findings, the case was transferred to the ED for investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Sources indicate that the ED is expected to summon and interrogate several individuals, including officials from the Forest Department and BSL, as part of the investigation. The agency is also tracing financial flows to determine how proceeds from the land transactions were laundered and who the primary beneficiaries of these schemes are.
