New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is conducting simultaneous raids at 20 locations, including those of IAS officer Manish Ranjan, Drinking Water and Sanitation Minister Mithlesh Thakur, and his associates, in connection with a multi-crore scam in the Jal Jeewab Mission of the Drinking Water and Sanitation Department.
The ED is also reportedly conducting raids at the premises of Vinay Thakur, the brother of Mithlesh Thakur, his personal secretary Harendra Singh, and several department engineers at locations including Indrapuri, Ratu Road, Harmu, and Morhabadi in Ranchi. Raids are also taking place in Chaibasa and Garhwa in Jharkhand, according to The New Indian Express.
Mithlesh Thakur, a contractor-turned-politician, holds significant influence in the current administration. Manish Ranjan, who was previously under the ED’s scrutiny in connection with a rural development scam, served as secretary in the Drinking Water and Sanitation Department for a considerable period.
The report quoted ED sources as saying that the agency is conducting these raids as part of an investigation into irregularities in the Jal Jeevan Mission of the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation. Meanwhile, security arrangements have been strengthened at all locations where raids are being conducted. This scam in the Drinking Water and Sanitation Department is reported to be of substantial scale, with a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) already filed alleging a scam of over Rs 4,000 crore.
Notably, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other senior BJP leaders referred to the ongoing scam during their campaign in the Lok Sabha elections, highlighting issues related to a central scheme aimed at providing piped drinking water to every household. Minister Alamgir Alam is already in jail in connection with a money laundering case linked to a multi-crore tender scam. The ED arrested him on May 15 after questioning him for over six hours. The seventy-year-old senior Congress leader Alamgir Alam represents the Pakur seat in the State Assembly.
