What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
What TV doesn't, print can't; we deliver.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has recovered two AK-47 assault rifles and several rounds of ammunition from the premises of Prem Prakash, an accused in the illegal tender scam case, sources in the agency said.
An ED source related to the probe said, “The ED carried out searches at 17 locations in Jharkhand, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and other locations since the morning.”
The source said that during the searches at the premises of Prakash in Jharkhand’s Ranchi, the financial probe agency recovered two AK-47 assault rifles and around 30 live ammunition.
Meanwhile, in a twist, the Ranchi Police said that the two AK47 assault rifles recovered from the premises of Prakash belonged to two police personnel.
The police said that the two policemen on August 23 kept their rifles with one of their old known staff at Prakash’s residence. They had kept their weapons there as while returning after duty, it started raining. The police also said that they locked their weapons in an almirah and took the keys with them.
On Wednesday, when they went to collect their weapons, ED searches were going on there. The police have written to the ED to return the weapon and also suspended the two policemen.
The source said that Prakash, who is also known as PP, has a lot of clout in political circles. The fresh searches came after Pankaj Mishra, who was arrested by ED on July 8 gave several leads to the agency.
Mishra is the MLA representative of Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren. The ED arrested him after questioning him for over eight hours. The arrest of Mishra comes days after the ED carried out searches at 18 locations, including the premises of several persons on July 8.
The ED had earlier also questioned Abhishek Prasad aka Pintu, press advisor to Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren in connection with the case on multiple occasions.
Earlier, the ED said in a statement that they had seized an inland vessel as part of the ongoing investigation, which was allegedly being operated without a permit from Sukargarh Ghat in Sahebganj.
The ED said Rajesh Yadav alias Dahu Yadav operated it in “collusion” with Mishra and others, for transporting mined stone chips or stone boulders. The ED put the estimated cost of the vessel at ₹30 crore, taking the total proceeds of this alleged scam past the ₹100 crore mark.
