Jharkhand: ED Raids At 34 Locations Including Finance Minister Rameshwar Oraon's Premises In Liquor Scam Case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids in several cities of Jharkhand on Wednesday (23 August) morning. The information indicates that the raids are related to a liquor scam.

More than a dozen teams from ED were deployed for the raids at 34 locations in Jharkhand. In Ranchi, the raids were conducted at a total of seven places including the premises of Minister Rameshwar Oraon and Tiwari Brothers.

Oraon is Finance Minister in the Hemant Soren government and won on a Congress ticket from Lohardaga (ST) assembly seat. His son Rohit Oraon also lives in the same premises that was raided, The Hindu reported.

Rameshwar Oraon has previously held the position of a Union cabinet minister, serving under the leadership of former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He is also a retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer belonging to the 1972 batch.

The ongoing inquiry is being carried out in accordance with the regulations outlined in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), as indicated by the sources.

Raids are also underway in Jamtara. Additionally, there is information about raids at a total of eight places in Deoghar including the residence of former Chief Minister of undivided Bihar and Congress leader Jagannath Mishra.

Another Congress leader, Munna Sanjay's residence was also raided. Teams are examining documents in the Meher Garden and Biscoman Bhavan.

There is also a team from ED at the residence of Abhishek Jha, who is a land businessman and the grandson of former CM of Bihar, Pandit Vinodanand Jha. Abhishek Jha has previously contested elections from the Madhupur Assembly constituency on a BJP ticket.

It is being said that the raids in Jharkhand are related to the Chhattisgarh-based syndicate. ED had earlier conducted raids at various locations in Chhattisgarh on Monday.

In Dumka, raids have been conducted at the office of liquor businessman Yogendra Tiwari, his associates, and relatives. ED raids are ongoing at five different places in Dumka city. This includes Tata Showroom Chowk-based Tanishq Showroom, Tiwari Automobile, Pappu Sharma at Kumharpada, and Anil Singh near Theka Baba Temple in Kumharpada.

It is being said that the liquor business of Yogendra Tiwari's associates is connected to Tanishq Showroom and Tiwari Automobile, while both Pappu Sharma and Anil Singh are workers in the liquor business.