SUMAN K SHRIVASTAVA
Ranchi, Jan. 3: Sahibganj Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ramniwas Yadav, whose official and private premises in Rajasthan are being raided today in the illegal mining scam, happens to be the third IAS officer in Jharkhand to face the ED knocks
Yadav, a 2015 batch IAS officer, has been posted as DC in Sahibganj since October 2020. The ED had questioned him last year on January 23 for seven hours as the maximum number of illegal mining and transportation was done during his tenure.
Pooja Singhal and Chhavi Ranjan
The two IAS officers, Pooja Singhal and Chhavi Ranjan are already cooling their heels in the Birsa Munda jail. While Pooja has been behind bars for more than one and half years in the MNREGA scam, Ranjan, a 2011 batch IAS officer, was arrested in May last year in the Ranchi land scam.
Incidentally, the ED wants to record the statement of Chief Minister Hemant Soren in the land scam, too.
Four more IAS officers under scanner
According to sources, at least four more IAS officers are under the scanner of the central probe agencies in different cases and are likely to face the heat soon.
Ramniwas Yadav’s role
The ED had grilled Yadav on his role and responsibility in stopping the illegal mining of stone and granite.
The ED has said that the illegal mining scam involves at least Rs 1000 crore, and mafias, officers, politicians, and businessmen are involved.
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Yadav, hailing from Rajasthan, had been questioned on whether or not he was aware of the illegal stone mining scam in his district worth Rs. 1000 crore, which the agency is investigating.
The ED had also questioned his failure to stop illegal mining and asked why he did not act against it.
Yadav had been under the scanner of the ED for his proximity with Pankaj Mishra, Hemant Soren’s MLA representative. His role in probing the case where a ship carrying trucks carrying stone chips met with an accident in the Ganga river in Sahibganj was also under scanner.
Yadav was then not able to reply satisfactorily on why he was following Mishra’s instructions and helping him indulge in illegal mining.
