After West Bengal, tensions between Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials and police have reached a peak in the state of Jharkhand as well. Ranchi Airport police station officers conducted a search operation directly at the ED office. The allegation is that ED officers assaulted a municipal clerk. Following this incident, police raided the Enforcement Directorate office in Ranchi, Jharkhand, to collect CCTV footage and other information after receiving the complaint.
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Allegations of assault during interrogation
It has been learned that allegations were raised against two ED officers, Pratik and Shubham, for assaulting municipal clerk Santosh Kumar. The allegation is that Santosh Kumar was summoned to the ED office on January 12 for an investigation into a water supply scam case. There, the two ED officers allegedly pressured him for a confession. This is not all – according to Ranchi resident Santosh Kumar's statement, he was severely beaten by the two ED officers named Pratik and Shubham.
Santosh alleges that due to the beating, his skull was injured. He received six stitches on his head. It is claimed that Santosh was also threatened not to inform anyone about the assault. This is not all – Santosh's sensational allegation is that the ED officers themselves took him to the hospital under strict surveillance to destroy all evidence of the beating. The assaulted municipal employee claims that after treatment, the accused officers also removed his blood-stained T-shirt. It is reported that he was made to wear new clothes and forced to sign an 'incident report'. Santosh has stated that he was threatened that his family would be imprisoned if he informed the media, police, or lawyers.
Police action and investigation into human rights violations
Despite the threats, Santosh Kumar filed a case at the Airport police station. Following this, police launched an operation against the ED. On Thursday at 6 AM, police arrived at the ED office. It has been learned that this operation was conducted to examine CCTV footage, digital documents, and other evidence. It is being investigated whether human rights violations occurred in the name of interrogation.
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This is not the first such conflict between Jharkhand police and the ED. However, ED headquarters has expressed strong displeasure over the role of the Ranchi police. Jharkhand opposition leader Babulal Marandi has also expressed anger. He said that there is important information related to corruption cases involving thousands of crores of rupees and alleged that an attempt is being made to destroy that evidence in the name of police action.
Not stopping there, he directly named Bengal and warned Hemant Soren to listen carefully, asserting that they will not allow Jharkhand to turn into Bengal.
