The bail plea of former Deputy Commissioner of Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi, Chhavi Ranjan, was heard in the Jharkhand High Court on Friday (April 12). During the morning hearing, the lawyer on behalf of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) sought time to file the reply.
Jharkhand High Court gives time to ED to file reply
The High Court gave time to the ED to file its reply and fixed the next hearing of the case on April 19. Chhavi Ranjan’s petition was heard in the court of Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad.
ED had arrested Chhavi Ranjan in May 2023
IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan was arrested by ED in May 2023 in the land scam case. Later Chhavi Ranjan was sent to judicial custody. Right now he is in jail.
Also Read: Land scam: Former DC of Ranchi Chhavi arrested by ED after long interrogation, health normal
The matter is related to the cancellation of the Jamabandi of Bajra Mauza.
This case of land scam is related to the cancellation of Jamabandi of 7.16 acres of land of Bajra Mauza of Hehal area. The order to cancel the Jamabandi that had been going on for 82 years was given by the then Deputy Commissioner Chhavi Ranjan. After this, the zonal officer declared the plain Panchnama correct and ordered mutation of the land in the name of Vinod Singh.
Deputy Commissioner’s office did not give documents to the Divisional Commissioner
Following the orders of the zonal officer, 150 police personnel were deployed and the land was cordoned off. When a complaint was received about fraud in this land in Bajra, the Revenue and Land Reforms Department ordered the then Commissioner to investigate. The Divisional Commissioner asked for documents from the Deputy Commissioner. The Deputy Commissioner’s office did not provide the documents to the Divisional Commissioner until a month after receiving the order.
Also Read: Land Scam: Former Ranchi DC and Social Welfare Director Chhavi Ranjan suspended, notification issued
On April 13, raids were conducted on 21 locations of 18 people including Chhavi Ranjan.
Let us tell you that on April 13, 2023, 21 locations of 18 people including IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan were raided in the case of purchase and sale of army-occupied land by falsifying documents. After the raid, Central Investigation Agency ED sent summons to Chhavi Ranjan for questioning. On April 24, on the third summons, the IAS officer reached the ED office for questioning. When he reached the ED office for the second time on May 4, he was arrested after about 10 hours of interrogation.