The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has recently questioned Ranchi-based businessman Bishnu Agrawal for around nine hours over his involvement in illegal land deals. Agrawal was summoned by the ED to investigate his purchase of land plots in Ranchi district.
Sources said the investigation focused on the registration of one acre of disputed land on Chesire Home road in the name of Agrawal and his wife. The registration was allegedly facilitated by the then deputy commissioner, Chhavi Ranjan, who ordered the mutation. The ED claimed that a quid pro quo existed between Agrawal and Ranjan.
Further investigation revealed that Agrawal sponsored a Goa trip for Ranjan and his wife, according to the forensic scrutiny of Agrawal’s mobile phone. Ranjan had also allegedly facilitated Agrawal’s acquisition of a non-saleable land plot at Pugru Mouza in Namkum, resulting in an inquiry by the state government.
Agrawal was summoned by the ED on May 8 in connection with the case, but he sought time on medical grounds. On Tuesday, the ED issued summons to superintendent of Birsa Munda Central Jail, Hamid Akhtar, and Himanshu Mehta, an advocate at Jharkhand high court.
ED officials have asked Akhtar to appear at their office on June 26 and Mehta on June 28. The ED had summoned Akhtar earlier for allegedly providing special treatment to accused persons of cases investigated by the central agency inside the jail campus. Mehta allegedly represents Jayant Karnad, a claimant of the 4.55-acre land in the Morabadi area of Ranchi. The ED recently attached the property.
The ED is investigating the scam further to bring to justice those involved in illegal land deals. The authorities aim to ensure transparency in land-related transactions and protect the public from fraudulent activities.
