RANCHI: A special CBI court in Ranchi convicted former minister Anosh Ekka, his wife Menon Ekka and 8 others in a 15-year-old purchase and sale case, violating the CNT Act.
The court will pronounce the quantum of punishment on August 30.
Meanwhile, all the convicts have been sent to judicial custody.
Anosh Ekka was accused of misusing his position as minister to purchase tribal land using fake addresses.
Those who were found guilty include Anosh Ekka, his wife Menon Ekka, then LRDC of Ranchi Kartik Kumar Prabhat, Raj Kishore Singh, Firoz Akhtar, Brajesh Mishra, Anil Kumar, Manilal Mahato, Parshuram Kerketta and Brajeshwar Mahato.
One of the accused, Govardhan Baitha, was acquitted due to lack of evidence.
Notably, CNT Act or Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act 1908, which Ekka and others are accused of violating, is a law made to protect tribal land rights in Jharkhand.
This Act, implemented by the British in 1908, prevents the transfer of tribal land to non-tribals.
Anosh Ekka was accused of misusing his position as a minister and buying and selling tribal land using fake addresses. The then LRDC Kartik Kumar Prabhat had helped him. Land was purchased on a large scale with the connivance of administrative officers and employees.
Several properties were purchased in the name of wife Menon Ekka, including 22 katha in Hinoo, 12 acres in Ormanjhi, 4 acres in Newri, and 9 decimals in Chutia’s Sirm Toli Mouza.
These transactions took place between March 2006 and May 2008. All charges framed by the CBI were upheld in court, leading to the conviction of the accused. Notably, Ekka was an MLA from Kolebira Assembly seat in the years 2005, 2009 and 2014.
During this time, he was also a minister in the Madhu Koda government between the years 2005 and 2008. Earlier, Ekk has also been convicted in case of murder of para teacher Manoj Kumar. In 2014, he was arrested in the case and in July 2018, the court found him guilty of murder and sentenced him to life imprisonment.