The Enforcement Directorate on August 23 conducted searches at premises linked to the son of Jharkhand Finance Minister and Congress leader Rameshwar Oraon and a few other persons in an alleged liquor scam case.
The Congress slammed the BJP government at the Centre, calling the ED searches “political vendetta”.
Rohit Oraon is alleged to have invested money in business enterprises in partnership with Yogendra Tiwari and Prem Prakash. Mr. Prakash is currently in judicial custody for alleged involvement in mining and land scams.
The Central agency conducted searches at around 34 premises in State capital Ranchi, Dumka, Deoghar, Godda, and other districts in connection with an alleged liquor scam which had surfaced earlier during money laundering investigations. Business and residential premises of some prominent liquor businessmen too were also searched. Mr. Rohit stays with his father.
Mr. Rameshwar, 76, represents the Lohardaga (ST) constituency, which he won on Congress ticket in the 2019 Assembly election. He holds the charge of the finance, planning and commercial tax departments in the Jharkhand Cabinet led by Chief minister Hemant Soren.
Mr. Rameshwar earlier served as the Minister of State for Tribal Affairs in the Union Cabinet led by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He is a retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the 1972 batch.
Congress leaders in the State slammed the BJP-led Union government for the ED searches. “The ED raids are nothing but an action of political vendetta at the behest of the BJP government at the Centre to tarnish the image of Opposition block INDIA, before the 2024 parliamentary elections,” Jharkhand Congress president Rajesh Thakur told mediapersons.
“Is the ED conducting similar raids in the BJP-ruled states or liquor is sold only in Jharkhand, Delhi and Chhattisgarh, all the non-BJP ruled states?” he said.
He also demanded to know “whether there is no scam in the BJP-ruled States in the country?”
The BJP leaders in the State said the investigating agency was only doing its job. “All I can say is that the ED is doing its job and there is no need of anyone’s interference”, BJP MLA from Ranchi C.P. Singh said.
