The Ranchi Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on Saturday ordered that Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Chhavi Ranjan be placed in the custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for six days in connection with an alleged land scam case.
As per the news agency ANI, Ranjan had been taken into one-day judicial custody on Friday, before being produced before the PMLA court on Saturday for further proceedings.
The IAS officer is being investigated in connection with a land scam case, where he is accused of being involved in fraudulent transactions of government land in Jharkhand’s Giridih district, which caused a loss of crores of rupees to the state exchequer.
The ED had earlier conducted raids at Ranjan’s residence and office in Jharkhand, where they reportedly seized several documents related to the case.
Ranjan, a 2009-batch IAS officer, had been posted as the Commissioner of the State Election Commission in Jharkhand. He was removed from the post after the allegations of his involvement in the land scam surfaced.
The ED had also arrested several other individuals, including the former Chairman of the Jharkhand Rajya Sabha, K D Singh, and his associate, in connection with the case.
The investigation into the case is ongoing, and the ED is expected to interrogate Ranjan during his custody to gather further evidence and information.
The case has generated significant public interest in Jharkhand and has raised questions about the integrity of the state’s bureaucratic system. The government has vowed to take strict action against those found guilty of involvement in the scam.
The arrest and subsequent custody of the IAS officer have sent shockwaves throughout the state and have prompted calls for greater accountability and transparency in government transactions and dealings.
The case is being closely monitored by the media and the public, and the outcome of the investigation and trial is eagerly awaited.