Jharkhand HC observes state police raid on ED office 'preplanned'
Ranchi (PTI): The Jharkhand High Court on Friday observed that the recent police raid on the ED office here prima facie appeared to be "preplanned".
Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwivedi, while hearing a writ petition filed by the ED, directed the central agency to make the Union home secretary a party to the case.
The court ordered the Union home secretary to depute CRPF/BSF or any other paramilitary force to provide security to the ED office and its officers.
Justice Dwivedi also directed Ranchi Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Rakesh Ranjan to ensure proper security of the ED office.
The court observed that if there is any lapse in the security of the ED office and its officers, the SSP Ranchi will directly be held responsible for that.
The high court also stayed the police investigation against ED officers on the basis of an FIR registered at the Airport police station by a former state government employee, Santosh Kumar.
The ED on Thursday moved the high court seeking a CBI probe into the raid conducted by the state police on its premises, alleging "direct interference" in the functioning of the central agency.
Counsel appearing for the ED told the court that the agency was probing an alleged scam involving Santosh Kumar amounting to Rs 23 crore, of which Rs 9 crore had already been recovered.
Police personnel had visited the ED office on Thursday and collected CCTV footage after Kumar, a former drinking water and sanitation department employee, lodged a complaint on January 12 alleging that he was "thrashed" by ED officials during interrogation in connection with an alleged water supply scam.
The development came close on the heels of a confrontation between the West Bengal Police and ED officials after the central agency conducted searches at the office of political consultancy firm I-PAC and the residence of its director Pratik Jain, amid allegations of interference by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.
The latest development has triggered a war of words between the opposition BJP and the ruling JMM over the authority of the police force.
Leader of the Opposition in Jharkhand Assembly, Babulal Marandi, alleged that under the guise of police action at the central probe agency's office, attempts could be made to tamper with and destroy crucial evidence pertaining to cases involving Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey also expressed apprehension that the state police action may result in arrest of honest officials.
Rejecting the allegations, JMM central spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said police were only performing their duty and demanded that a case be registered against Marandi for "provoking a clash between the central and state forces".
The Congress, a constituent of the ruling coalition, alleged that the BJP was blowing the matter out of proportion, as police had to investigate at the place of occurrence.
"People are convinced that the office of the BJP and that of the ED are the same," senior Congress leader Rajesh Thakur said.
In January 2024, Soren had lodged a police complaint against senior ED personnel at the SC/ST police station here over searches conducted by the agency at his Delhi residence in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.
Soren claimed that the ED conducted the searches to "harass and malign him and his entire community", according to the FIR.
The CM was questioned by the ED as part of an investigation into a "huge racket of illegal change of land ownership by the mafia" in Jharkhand.
The ED later prayed for a CBI probe before the Jharkhand High Court into allegations levelled by Soren that a section of its officers violated provisions of the SC/ST Act.
"My family members and I have suffered and experienced immense mental, psychological and emotional harm because of the acts committed...," Soren stated in the FIR.
The matter is pending before court.
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US VP JD Vance says Lebanon not part of ceasefire, calls it ‘misunderstanding’
Budapest/Washington: US Vice President J D Vance has said that Lebanon was never included in the ceasefire understanding with Iran, describing the confusion as a “legitimate misunderstanding”.
Speaking to reporters before departing from Hungary, Vance said, “I think the Iranians thought that the ceasefire included Lebanon and it just didn’t. We never made that promise.”
He stressed that the United States had not included Lebanon in the scope of the ceasefire at any stage.
His remarks come amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, where more than 200 people were reported killed, even as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US move forward.
Vance said Israel had “offered … to check themselves a little bit in Lebanon because they want to make sure that our negotiation is successful”.
He warned that if Iran allows the situation in Lebanon to affect the negotiations, it could derail the talks.
“If Iran wants to let this negotiation fall apart in a conflict where they were getting hammered over Lebanon, which has nothing to do with them and which the United States never once said was part of the ceasefire, that’s ultimately their choice,” he said.
