The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) arrested Kolkata-based businessman Amit Agrawal and his aide Dilip Ghosh for money laundering on Wednesday night in connection with fraudulent sale of around 4.5 acres of land at a premium location in Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi, officials said on Thursday.
The land, which has been under possession of the Indian Army since independence, was sold by a fictitious owner, Pradip Bagchi, by allegedly manipulating the official land records in Ranchi and Kolkata, to M/S Jagatbandhu Tea Estate Pvt. Ltd, a Kolkata-based firm of which Dilip Ghosh is the director and Amit Agrawal was a beneficial owner, the federal agency has alleged.
Agrawal, considered close to the top leadership of the ruling JMM in Jharkhand, was arrested by the federal agency in Kolkata on Wednesday night and produced before the special court in Ranchi on Thursday. “The agency sought an initial remand of five days of Agrawal and Ghosh. The court would hear the arguments on Friday and sent the two accused into judicial custody till then,” an official said.
Earlier, eight persons, including IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan, have been arrested in the case, allegedly for hatching a conspiracy to registering the property in name of the company owned by the Kolkata businessman.
Agrawal was arrested last year by the ED on money laundering charges. He was accused of trapping an advocate of Jharkhand High Court, Rajeev Kumar, and getting him arrested with ₹50 lakh in cash in Kolkata with an intention to affect the outcome of a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by him seeking a CBI probe against Agrawal and others. Agrawal later secured bail from the Supreme Court.
On directions of the Jharkhand HC, the CBI had, on January 18, 2023, registered a case against Amit Agrawal and others for “conspiracy to malign the image of judiciary and other government officials”.
Agrawal’s name also figured in an affidavit filed by the ED before the Jharkhand HC in an illegal mining case which the federal agency is probing for money laundering.
In its affidavit, the agency had included the statement of Ravi Kejriwal, former treasurer of the ruling JMM, who said Agrawal was close to the JMM and chief minister Hemant Soren.
JMM spokesperson Manoj Pandey refused to comment on the development. “It’s a legal issue and those who have been arrested would defend themselves as per law,” said Pandey.