ED arrests Jharkhand IAS officer in land deal case

ED on Thursday arrested Jharkhand IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan, after around 11 hours of questioning in connection with its money laundering probe related to alleged illegal land deals.

Updated on: May 5, 2023, 24:00:08 IST

By Vishal Kant, RANCHI

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday arrested Jharkhand IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan, after around 11 hours of questioning in connection with its money laundering probe related to alleged illegal land deals, an official familiar with the matter said. Ranjan is currently the director of the state’s Social Welfare Department.

ED is probing a money laundering case related to alleged illegal land deals.

The 2011-batch officer of Jharkhand cadre reached the ED office in Ranchi around 11am, and was “formally arrested at 9.55pm”, said a senior ED official who didn’t wish to be named. “He will be produced before PMLA court on Friday,” the official added.

The ED had earlier questioned Ranjan for about 10 hours on April 24 in connection with its money laundering probe related to the fraudulent sale of around 4.5 acres of army land in the heart of the state capital.

Ranjan was deputy commissioner of Ranchi when these land deals were allegedly processed, people familiar with the matter said. He held the post of DC from July 15, 2020 to July 11 2022.

This is the second case in which a Jharkhand-cadre IAS officer has come under the ED scanner. In May last year, the federal agency arrested IAS officer Pooja Singhal in a money laundering case.

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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