Jharkhand illegal sand mining: ED seizes 30 properties worth ?3.02 crore

Ranchi — The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday said it attached 30 movable and immovable properties valued at ?3.02 crore on August 14 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. The assets allegedly belong to Ankit Raj, who is accused of running a sophisticated, multi-layered racket to mine, store and transport sand illegally.

The ED said the operation deliberately flouted mining rules and exploited public authority to maximise illicit profits, and that the seized assets were purchased with proceeds of crime. The probe followed 16 FIRs filed by Jharkhand Police on December 15, 2023, alleging extortion, illegal sand mining, disruption of government work and running a militant group called the Jharkhand Tiger Group.

Searches in the case were carried out on March 12–13, 2024 and July 4, 2025, and a survey of the District Mining Office in Hazaribagh was conducted on July 18, 2025. ED investigators say documents, witness statements and digital evidence show Raj continued extracting sand from the Haharo, Plandu and Damodar rivers after his Sonpura Ghat mining licence expired in 2019.

In July, the ED also raided eight sites linked to associates of former Congress MLA Amba Prasad in Barkagaon, with simultaneous searches in Ranchi, Hazaribagh and Barkagaon as part of a wider money-laundering probe involving firms in coal transportation, infrastructure and power.

With inputs from IANS