Jharkhand cabinet nod to launch probe against 5 BJP ex-ministers

The Jharkhand cabinet on Tuesday greenlit a proposal by the state’s anti-corruption bureau to kick off a preliminary probe into a case of alleged disproportionate assets of five cabinet members in former BJP chief minister Raghubar Das’s government.

Updated on: Jul 26, 2023, 24:57:22 IST

By Vishal Kant, Ranchi

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The Jharkhand cabinet on Tuesday greenlit a proposal by the state’s anti-corruption bureau (ACB) to kick off a preliminary probe into a case of alleged disproportionate assets of five cabinet members in former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief minister Raghubar Das’s government.

The five under the scanner — Amar Bauri, Neelkanth Singh Munda, Neera Yadav, Randhir Singh and Louis Marandi — were part of the state cabinet between 2014 and 2019.

Marandi apart, the rest are members of the incumbent state assembly as well.

“The cabinet has approved the ACB’s proposal to initiate a preliminary inquiry after the agency completed the confidential verification,” said cabinet secretary Ajoy Singh.

On November 14 last year, Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren’s government directed ACB to probe the case, on the back of a PIL filed before the Jharkhand high court in 2020.

Besides the five ministers and the departments they held, the petitioner, Pankaj Yadav, also made ACB, the income tax department and the chief secretary parties in the plea.

“In light of Yadav’s PIL, the state government sought the advocate general’s opinion. Based on this, the government directed ACB to begin its probe,” said Singh.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vishal Kant
Stationed in Ranchi, Vishal is heading the Jharkhand Bureau of Hindustan Times since November 2017. Besides leading the reporting team, Vishal tracks and writes on developments related to the state politics, economy and policy matters in Jharkhand. Prior to his current assignment, Vishal used to work in New Delhi after graduating from the University of Delhi. Vishal joined HT in the rank of Assistant Editor in August 2015 and was part of the Delhi Metro Bureau, covering a host of issues in the City-state including politics, policy---especially those related to urban traffic & transport infrastructure and railways. A native of Palamu district in Jharkhand, Vishal started his two-decade long career in the mainstream media in 2006. During this period, he has has worked in different capacity with a number of national media houses including the Financial Chronicle, India Today, Deccan Herald and The Hindu, before moving to the Hindustan Times. He holds the experience of having worked in three major mediums of mass communication--Print, Electronic and Digital. He is a proud father of two daughters.Read More

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