KOLKATA: Rajiv Kumar, the lawyer who had filed a PIL against Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren over corruption, was arrested by the Kolkata Police Detective Department (DD) on charges of allegedly duping people of money.
Police said he was picked up from a bar under the Hare Street police station area executing a warrant issued against him by the Jharkhand Police.
Police claim he was arrested in a cheating case lodged against him in Jharkhand. Police found cash amounting to Rs 50 lakh with him.
As per information, he had got one PIL filed in Ranchi High Court against one Kolkata-based businessman and was demanding Rs 10 crore to withdraw the PIL. In initial negotiations, he came down to Rs 4 crore and finally to Rs 1 crore. The first instalment of Rs 50 lakh was paid Sunday when he was caught redhanded.
He had also told the businessman that he had connections with central agencies and would get his house and office raided. It has been learnt that he is the brain behind more than 600 PILs.
Two PILs were filed against CM Soren. One of them accused Soren of granting himself a mining lease while holding the Mining portfolio. The other stated that Soren was allegedly linked to shell companies and money laundering.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren's press advisor Abhishek Prasad alias Pintu is likely to be interrogated by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) at its Ranchi zonal office on Monday.
The ED issued summon to him on July 26 and asked him to appear before the agency for questioning under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with illegal mining on Monday.
In its ongoing extensive operation in Jharkhand, ED has already arrested Pankaj Mishra who is the MLA representative of the Chief Minister in his Assembly Constituency Berhait.
According to the ED sources, Mishra took Abhishek Prasad's name during the interrogation and revealed a few key things, following which the ED summoned CM's press advisor.
Mishra was arrested on July 19, after almost eight long hours of interrogation. The Special PMLA court had sent him to ED custody twice for six days each.
Meanwhile, several teams of ED conducted more searches in Sahebganj resulting in the seizure of one inland vessel namely M.V. Infralink-III.
"In connection with the ongoing investigation in the illegal mining, extortion etc in Jharkhand, Enforcement Directorate (ED) has further seized one inland vessel namely M.V.Infralink- III bearing registration number WB 1809 during a search conducted on July 26," ED said on Wednesday.
"The said inland vessel was being operated illegally without having any permit from Sukargarh Ghat, Sahebganj. It was being operated at the behest of Rajesh Yadav aka Dahu Yadav in collusion with Pankaj Mishra and others for transporting illegally mined stone chips/stone boulders," it added.
The agency further disclosed that the estimated cost of the vessel would be around Rs 30 crore.
"This was preceded by freezing of two illegally operated stone crushers of Maa Amba Stone Works operated by Bishnu Yadav and Pavitra Yadav along with the freezing of three HYVA trucks found at MauzaMajhikola, Sahebganj carrying illegally quarried stone chips/boulders without having any mining challans during a search conducted on July 25 by the ED," it added further.