Enforcement Directorate gets 8 day remand of Advocate Rajeev Kumar for blackmailing businessman

RANCHI: Enforcement Directorate on Thursday secured an 8-day remand of advocate Rajiv Kumar, who is currently lodged at Alipur Jail in Bengal after being arrested by Kolkata police on July 31 along with Rs 50 lakh cash from his possession, on the charges of blackmailing a Kolkata-based businessman Amit Agrawal after filing a PIL against him in Jharkhand High Court. The special PMLA court of Prabhat Kumar Sharma of Ranchi civil court granted police custody of Rajiv Kumar to ED, effective from August 20.

Allegedly, Kumar had filed a PIL in Ranchi High Court against a Kolkata-based businessman and was asking Rs 10 crore to withdraw the PIL. After negotiations, he allegedly settled at Rs 1 crore for which the first instalment of Rs 50 lakh was paid and he was caught red-handed with it.

Kumar was produced before the PMLA court through video conferencing. The ED submitted before the special PMLA court that the agency has taken up a case for an investigation related to the seizure of Rs 50 lakh from the possession of Rajiv Kumar in which his police remand will be required.

The FIR was originally lodged by the Kolkata police at Hare Street police station. The ED informed the court that the agency lodged an ECIR in Ranchi and Rajiv Kumar is the accused in this case.