The Jharkhand High Court has made a significant ruling in the ongoing dispute between the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Jharkhand Police. The court has instructed the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to investigate the FIR filed against ED officials and the entire related matter.
This ruling is considered a setback for the state government and the Ranchi police. The ED had challenged the FIR against its officers at the Ranchi Airport police station, labeling it baseless and requesting a CBI inquiry into the issue.
The controversy arose when Santosh Kumar, an employee of the Drinking Water and Sanitation Department and a suspect in a money laundering case, accused ED officials of assaulting, abusing, and mentally harassing him during questioning in Ranchi on January 12.
Following Kumar’s complaint, the Ranchi police lodged an FIR against the ED officials and conducted a search at the ED office, leading to a tense standoff between the state police and the central agency.
The ED, alleging malicious intent on the part of the police to obstruct its investigation, approached the High Court through a writ petition. The court, in a hearing on January 16, halted the police investigation and emphasized that the operations of a central investigative agency should not be disrupted.
During the proceedings, the High Court also mandated the transfer of ED office security to central paramilitary forces like CISF, BSF, or other agencies, and ordered the preservation of CCTV footage related to the incident.
Representatives from the ED, including Assistant Solicitor General of India S.V. Raju, along with other advocates, and the state government’s legal team presented their arguments during the hearings.
