RANCHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday attached movable properties worth Rs 2.03 crore of a Tritya Prastuti Committee (TPC) extremist identified as Bindeshwar Ganjhu alias Bindu Ganjhu under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
The case pertains to collecting funds through extortion from contractors, coal traders and transporters in the Magadh Amrapali coal block area of Jharkhand.
The attached assets included vehicles registered in the name of Ganjhu and his firm M/s Maa Gange Coal Trading Private Limited.
A press statement issued by the agency said it initiated investigations under the PMLA based on the FIR (02/2016) and the chargesheet (17/16) dated March 10, 2016, filed by Tandwa police under sections 414, 384, 386, 387 and 120-B of IPC, 25(1-B)A, 26 and 35 of Arms Act and 17(1)(2) of CLA Act against one Binod Kumar Ganjhu and others including Bindu. The case has been taken over by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), Ranchi which has filed two chargesheets against the accused.
Meanwhile, ED’s investigation revealed that Bindu used to extort from transporters and delivery order holders in the Magadh Amrapali coal block area of Chatra district in connivance with other TPC extremists.
Since Bindu is a member of the rebel group, he was closely associated with the top leaders and acquired proceeds of the crime in his and his firm’s names, the statement said.
Earlier, immovable and movable assets worth Rs 2.89 crore belonging to the TPC extremists, namely Binod Ganjhu, Pradeep Ram and their two firms, were already attached in the same case through a provisional attachment order in September 2019. The ED said further investigation in the matter is in progress.