ED detains three people including the head of the JMM in a land fraud in Jharkhand
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Friday night detained Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Antu Tirkey and three other people in connection with the case, two months after former chief minister of Jharkhand Hemant Soren was taken into custody in an alleged money laundering scheme tied to a land grab.
On Tuesday, the ED raided the homes of Irshad, Priyaranjan Sahay, Tirkey, and real estate broker Vipin Singh. They were all then brought to the Ranchi office of the ED to be questioned, and they were all were placed into custody.
Tirkey, a former member of the JMM national committee, left the party in 2019 after being unable to get a ticket for the Assembly election. But in 2022, he joined the JMM again. Sources claim that the comments made by Saddam Hussain, another culprit in the case who is being held by the police, served as the basis for the searches. He was detained on January 31 in connection with a land grabbing case including forgeries. It is alleged that he is close to Soren.
Afshar Ali, another accused, was previously detained on charges of falsifying papers to seize big areas of property in Jharkhand.
The 8.86-acre parcel of land that was purportedly obtained by forgery was to be seized by the ED, which filed a chargesheet against Soren and three other parties on March 30. In related news, JMM leader Nazrul Islam expressed regret on Wednesday for disparaging Prime Minister Narendra Modi in a statement, adding that it was not meant to do harm to anybody.
His apology came the day after the state BJP called for Islam’s arrest for remarks made during the election that suggested the prime minister “would be buried 400-foot below” as opposed to gaining 400 seats.
In a political address, I refuted the Prime Minister’s assertion that he had won 400 seats. In a video message, Islam said, “I meant to say that they [the BJP-led NDA] would not get 400 seats and they will be out of power.”
The member of the JMM central committee said, “I am a professor and an educated individual. I’m not allowed to criticize the PM in this way. However, I really apologize if my remarks have unintentionally injured someone for whatever reason. He spoke the disparaging things against PM Modi on Sunday before a public gathering in Sahibganj, Jharkhand. On Wednesday, the Sahibganj section of the BJP filed a police complaint against Islam. The JMM said that the party disapproved of any leader’s comments of this kind.
