Jharkhand police trying to ‘save’ accused in toll plaza graft case: HC

The court also turned down the arguments of Alam, Mishra and the state government against ED being made a respondent in the matter, and directed the agency along with the CBI to file counter affidavits in two weeks, and posted the matter for December 22.

Updated on: Dec 10, 2022, 04:35:36 IST

By Vishal Kant, RANCHI

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

The Sahebganj district police in Jharkhand did not submit its charge sheet against rural development minister Alamgir Alam and Pankaj Mishra, an aide of chief minister Hemant Soren, to “save” the two politicians in a case related to alleged irregularities in the tender of a toll plaza, the high court has noted.

Jharkhand High Court in Ranchi. (HT file) (HT_PRINT)

Allowing the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to be made a respondent in a criminal writ petition filed by one Sambhu Nandan, the complainant in the tender case seeking a CBI probe, a bench of justice Sanjeev Kumar Dwivedi said ‘prima facie it appears that he (minister Alam) threatened the petitioner’ not to participate in the tender process and its a ‘concern for court’.

The court also turned down the arguments of Alam, Mishra and the state government against ED being made a respondent in the matter, and directed the agency along with the CBI to file counter affidavits in two weeks, and posted the matter for December 22.

“....considering the submissions of the parties, prima facie, it appears that only to save the respondent Nos. 8 and 9, (Alamgir Alam and Pankaj Mishra), chargesheet has not been submitted against them... what was the reason of not submitting the chargesheet against two respondents is a matter of concern,” the court said.

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

Get the latest India News, breaking headlines and real-time updates from across the country. Stay informed about politics, government policies, crime, weather and major national developments.