J'khand: ED detains 2 including govt official in DA case

Ranchi, Feb 21 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Tuesday detained two persons in Jharkhand in connection with a disproportionate assets case, an official said.

According to an official, Virendra Ram, Chief Engineer at Rural Development Department, Jharkhand, and Alok Ranjan, a 'lawyer', have been apprehended.

Ranjan, who identifies himself as a lawyer, was earlier arrested in 2019 by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) of Jharkhand after a raid was conducted at the residence of one Suresh Prasad Verma, a junior engineer. The ACB had recovered Rs 2.67 crore from the room of Ranjan who used to stay at Verma's house.

On February 21, ED teams conducted raids at 24 premises of Virendra Ram, located in Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Delhi, Patna, Siwan (Bihar) and Haryana.

During the raids, investment-related documents worth crores of rupees were recovered along with jewellery worth Rs 1.5 crore.

ED sources said that eight SUVs belonging to Ram, a total of six houses including four in Delhi's Defence Colony have been traced. Their cost is more than Rs 20 crore.

According to sources, Ram also owns a flat in Jamshedpur's Sonari residential area and two duplexes in Mango area of the same city.

The ED had received information regarding illegal properties worth crores in Bihar's Mairwa and Siwan. Several incriminating documents were recovered during the raid.