Bihar: Police inspector amasses assets worth ₹50 cr with mafia links

EOU sleuths conducted searches at five premises linked to Ranjan in Patna, Saran, Muzaffarpur, Kishanganj, and Siliguri in West Bengal.

The Economic Offences Unit (EOU) of the Bihar Police unearthed huge assets running into crores of rupees from the possession of an inspector currently posted in Kishanganj district, officials said on Wednesday.

Economic Offences Unit (EOU) office in Patna. (HT Photo)

The accused inspector, identified as Abhishek Kumar Ranjan, a 2009-batch sub-inspector who was earlier posted as station house officer (SHO) of Town police station in Kishanganj, allegedly maintained close ties with sand, liquor, cattle, and entry mafias and amassed assets worth ₹50 crore in just 17 years of service. Nearly ₹20 crore is reported to have been invested in property in Fatehpur Kanti of Muzaffarpur district. Many of these assets are suspected to be held as ‘benami’.

He is the second police officer posted in Kishanganj against whom the EOU has conducted raids after registering a disproportionate assets (DA) case. Earlier, on March 31, the EOU raided the premises of sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Gautam Kumar and unearthed illegal assets worth crores. The EOU also found the alleged role of the then SP, who reportedly patronised both the SDPO and the inspector.

On Tuesday, EOU sleuths conducted searches at five premises linked to Ranjan in Patna, Saran, Muzaffarpur, Kishanganj, and Siliguri in West Bengal. During the searches, the EOU found a four-storey building (2,200 sq ft) in Ramakrishna Nagar, Patna, built in 2023–24 at an estimated cost of ₹2 crore. A house built in 2019 on a 1,400 sq ft plot in Prabhu Nagar, Chhapra town, is valued at ₹30 lakh. A two-storey house is also under construction in Bheldi (Saran) at a cost of ₹50 lakh.

Last month, the EOU had raided the premises of SDPO Gautam Kumar in Kishanganj, where illegal assets worth crores were detected. During that investigation, the role of the inspector also came under suspicion.

EOU investigations revealed that Ranjan invested large sums in real estate through illegal syndicates. Six plots of land were found on Darjeeling Road in Siliguri, for which he reportedly paid ₹84 lakh to a promoter. A flat was also found on Sevak Road in Siliguri. The inspector allegedly purchased six to seven trucks and invested heavily in LIC policies, shares, and mutual funds, including about ₹20 lakh annually.

His elder son studied at a school in Siliguri, where ₹2.5 lakh was reportedly paid as admission fees. The EOU also seized documents related to air travel to Mumbai from Bagdogra, where the family stayed at a five-star hotel, indicating a lavish lifestyle.

Kishanganj Superintendent of Police (SP) Santosh Kumar had, on April 11, removed Ranjan from the SHO post and sent him to the police line over alleged negligence in investigating an Arms Act case registered at Gopalpur police station (Patna) in 2021. Departmental action was also initiated against him.

“During the raid at the Patna residence, approximately ₹8.5 lakh in cash was recovered, along with details of deposits of around ₹8.5 lakh in bank accounts of Ranjan and his wife, Ankita Kumari. The measurement and valuation of the properties are being carried out by the technical wing,” said ADG (EOU) NH Khan.

He added that Ranjan, who was promoted to inspector in 2023 and served in districts including Muzaffarpur, Motihari (East Champaran), Patna, and Kishanganj, possessed assets 115.66% higher than his known sources of income. The raids were conducted by EOU teams led by deputy superintendents of police, acting on a search warrant issued by the Special Vigilance Court, Patna.