The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized land and property worth over Rs. 3 crores belonging to Ankit Raj, brother of former Congress MLA from Barkagaon, Amba Prasad. The agency informed the Ranchi PMLA Court that 13.24 acres of land and a house valued at Rs. 1 crore in Hazaribagh have been attached in connection with illegal sand mining operations.
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Charge Sheet Detailed Property Attachment
In its August charge-sheet, the ED stated that it had provisionally attached 30 movable and immovable assets worth Rs. 3.02 crores. These include multiple plots spread across Mauja Zordag, Sadampur, Bahoranpur, Bhadhikhap, Cantonment, and other villages in Hazaribagh district. One of the seized properties is an eight-decimal plot purchased in 2021 for Rs. 75 lakh on which Ankit Raj constructed a concrete house costing Rs. 26 lakh.
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According to ED, the assets were acquired from proceeds of illegal sand mining. It alleged that Raj continued extracting sand from Haharo, Plandu, and Damodar river ghats even after the expiry of his mining licence in 2019. The agency has so far attached properties worth Rs. 3.4 crore under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Case Based on Multiple FIRs
The investigation was initiated on 15th December 2023, on the basis of 16 FIRs registered by Jharkhand Police. These cases relate to charges of extortion, illegal mining, obstruction of Government work, and running a banned outfit called Jharkhand Tiger Group. The ED’s charge-sheet brings a significant turn in the case as the agency seeks to confiscate assets allegedly bought with criminal proceeds.
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