Sahibganj Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ramniwas Yadav appeared before Central probe agency Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) Zonal Office in Ranchi on Monday. The ED had summoned Sahibganj DC to appear before the Central probe agency in connection with the illegal mining case.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has called Sahibganj DC Ramniwas Yadav, to question his role and responsibility in stopping illegal mining in his district.

2015 batch IAS officer Ramniwas Yadav joined as Deputy Commissioner of Sahibganj in October 2020. It is alleged that the maximum illegal stone mining and transportation took place during his regime. The ED, which is investigating the illegal mining, has stated that the scam is worth over Rs. 1000 crore involving mafias, politicians, officials, businessmen and others.

The ED has summoned Yadav for questioning after it came to fore that aide of Chief Minister Hemant Soren, Pankaj Mishra who is currently in police custody has made several phone calls and video calls to Sahibganj DC in the July-October last year.    

Sources said that despite in police custody, Mishra made more than 300 calls to different officers and politicians from jail.  

Sources confided that the ED would confront him with those two specific orders of the government that Ramniwas Yadav may find difficult to duck and deny. The rules dealing with minor and major minerals have clearly stated that DC and SP of the concerned district followed by a hierarchy official will be responsible for stopping illegal mining. This rule has been reiterated from time to time. Notably, in Jharkhand Minor Mineral Concession Rules 2004 and Jharkhand Minerals (Prevention of Illegal Mining, Transportation and Storage) Rules 2017 the position of DC vis a vis illegal mining has been clearly defined leaving no scope to pass the buck on others.

Sources said that Yadav questioning will bring more trouble for Pankaj Mishra. Already, the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has registered another case against Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren’s aide Pankaj Mishra, who is currently in jail in connection with an ongoing alleged illegal mining case.

ED officials said a case lodged with Jirwabari police outpost in Sahebganj district last year has been taken over by the agency as a predicate offence to record the new enforcement case information report (ECIR) against Mishra and others.

Mishra, who is the assembly constituency representative of CM Hemant Soren, and two others, Prem Prakash and Bachu Yadav, were arrested last year. All three continue to be in judicial custody.