ED refuses to reply to Jharkhand govt

Ranchi, January 17: The Enforcement Directorate has written to the Jharkhand government saying that it has no “locus standi” in money laundering investigations.

The development comes after principal secretary cabinet secretariat and vigilance department Vandana Dadel wrote to an ED investigator seeking reasons to summon an IAS officer and some others as part of a probe.

Dadel had sought information from the ED’s investigating officer (IO) about a money laundering case in which the agency has summoned IAS officer and Sahibganj deputy commissioner Ram Nivas Yadav and some others. The agency had raided these people in connection with an alleged illegal mining case early this month.

Dadel’s letter to the ED was sent in the wake of the Jharkhand cabinet approving guidelines last week making it mandatory for Jharkhand bureaucrats to inform the state cabinet secretariat and vigilance department through departmental heads about notices and summons received from central government agencies like the ED, the CBI and the Income-Tax department.

The IO in the letter informed Dadel that the summons were not issued “personally” to her but to the named persons and wondered why was she “interfering” in the issue.

“It is pertinent to mention here that the investigating officer is not legally allowed to share any information about ongoing investigation under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act with your office as you are not authorised under the provisions of the PMLA either to intervene in ongoing investigation or to obtain details of ongoing investigation,” the IO wrote.

He said any order or administrative instruction was “not applicable or binding to the probe officer who derived its powers to investigate the offence of money laundering under the PMLA, an Act enacted by the Parliament of India.” “It is amply clear from provisions of section 52 and section 73 of PMLA that the state government has no locus standi to either issue any direction of frame any rule either to carry out investigation under the PMLA or to interfere in the scope of PMLA,” the IO wrote.

CM should reply to ED: Guv

Ranchi, January 17: In the backdrop of protests against the Enforcement Directorate’s summons to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Governor CP Radhakrishnan on Wednesday said the ED is doing its duty and the CM should provide the right answers to the probe agency.

Speaking to reporters at the ICFAI University convocation ceremony, the governor emphasised that no chief minister is above the law.

When asked about concerns regarding the law and order situation on January 20, Radhakrishnan said, “Why would the law and order situation be affected? The ED is simply doing its duty. It is the chief minister’s responsibility to provide the appropriate answers to the agency.”

Regarding the alleged anger among the public over the ED summons, the governor questioned, “Why should the public be angry? If you want to become a leader, you must be prepared to provide answers.” On Tuesday, JMM spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya had told reporters that there is anger among people over the action of ED.