ED arrests Jharkhand CM’s aide Pankaj Mishra in money laundering probe
According to officials of the central agency, Pankaj Mishra was arrested under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after about eight hours of questioning on Tuesday.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday arrested Pankaj Mishra, the political representative of Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren, in connection with a money laundering investigation against him and several others.
According to officials of the central agency, Mishra was arrested under the criminal sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after about eight hours of questioning on Tuesday.
Mishra is a central committee member of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), besides being the assembly representative of CM Soren, who represents Barhait in the Jharkhand assembly.
On July 8, the federal agency had conducted raids on at least 19 locations linked to Mishra, including his premises in Sahibganj.
In a statement issued last Saturday, the ED had said it froze deposits worth ₹11.88 crore in 37 bank accounts belonging to Mishra and others, including Dahoo Yadav, who runs a ferry service in Sahibganj district.
Besides the seizure of money from these accounts, the ED had said it also recovered “unaccounted” cash worth ₹5.34 crore during the raids and alleged that these funds were linked to “illegal mining” in the state.
Following the raids, the agency had issued summons to Mishra and had asked him to join the investigation on July 12.
Mishra had said he has sought more time and was available for questioning on July 19. He arrived at the regional ED office here on Tuesday at around 11 am.
Reacting to Mishra’s arrest, JMM spokesperson Manoj Pandey said, “It’s a legal issue. Mishra would handle it accordingly.”