PATNA: Sleuths of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested a sand businessman Subhash Yadav, a close aide of RJD chief Lalu Prasad, in a money laundering case related to illegal mining, on Saturday.
Yadav’s arrest came after the ED conducted a 14-hour search operation at six locations associated with him in and around the state capital on Saturday. The searches were conducted at Yadav’s premises at Danapur and Maner in Patna (rural) and his office at upscale Boring Road locality in the capital.
The ED seized cash worth more than Rs 2.3 crore and incriminating documents. Sources said searches were also carried out in Ranchi. After taking him into custody, the Central agency produced him before a judicial magistrate who remanded him in 14-day judicial custody at Beur Central Jail.
The ED’s actions stem from a probe initiated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) based on 20 FIRs registered by the Bihar Police against M/s Broadson Commodities Pvt Ltd (BCPL) whose director is Subhash Yadav.
The BCPL is accused of causing revenue losses to the state government by engaging in illegal sand mining without using e-challans. The company also faces charges of violating environmental regulations by indulging in large-scale illegal sand mining across the state.
A case has been registered under the PMLA. The probe has reportedly revealed that the company minted money worth Rs 161 crore through illegal sale of sand.
Yadav is a key player in a syndicate, controlling the state’s illegal sand mining trade through companies like BCPL. Subhash Yadav, who is a member of the RJD’s national committee, had contested the Lok Sabha elections on an RJD ticket from Chatra in Jharkhand in 2019.
The RJD reacted sharply with party spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav saying that action against Subhash Yadav was a part of BJP’s conspiracy to demoralise the party leadership. “They (BJP) are afraid of us after the grand success of ‘Jan Vishwas Maharally’ organised at Gandhi Maidan on March 3,” he told the media.
He alleged the BJP was trying to threaten people close to the RJD chief Lalu Prasad through Central agencies like CBI and ED. “But that will not serve the purpose,” he added. JD(U), however, defended ED’s action and said that the law was taking its course. “The probe agencies are doing their work,” JD(U) state president Umesh Kushwaha said.
Last year, the ED arrested Bihar MLC and JD(U) leader Radha Charan Sah, his son Kanhaiya Prasad and directors of Broadsons Commodities Mithilesh Kumar Singh, Baban Singh and Surendra Kumar Jindal and they are currently lodged in jail under judicial custody.
The agency had filed a chargesheet against them before a Patna special PMLA court in November 2023. The alleged sand trade is controlled by a syndicate that invested funds in the said company and the syndicate earns profit by illegally selling sand, which is nothing but proceeds of crime, according to the ED.
20 FIRs registered
ED’s actions stem from a probe initiated under the PMLA based on 20 FIRs registered by the Bihar Police against a company whose director is Subhash Yadav. The firm also faces charges of violating environmental regulations by indulging in large-scale illegal sand mining