No charge sheet against minister Alam, Soren aide Mishra to save them: Jharkhand HC

The Jharkhand High Court has said it appears that the Sahebganj district police did not submit charge sheet against rural development minister Alamgir Alam and Pankaj Mishra, political aide of chief minister Hemant Soren, to shield them in a case where they are accused of threatening a man against participating in the tender process for a toll plaza and assaulting him when he did not relent.

In a written order on Friday allowing the directorate of enforcement (ED) to be made a respondent in a criminal writ petition filed by Sambhu Nandan seeking a CBI probe into the case, the bench of justice Sanjeev Kumar Dwivedi further said that “prima facie it appears that he (minister Alam) threatened the petitioner not to participate in the tender process and it’s a concern for court”.

Turning down the arguments of minister Alam, Mishra and the state government against ED being made a respondent in the matter, the court has directed both the ED and the CBI to file counter affidavits in the case in two weeks and has posted the matter for next hearing on December 22.

The case was registered with Barharwa police station in Sahebganj district on June 22, 2020, on the complaint of Sambhu Nandan Kumar.

Alam, Mishra and eight others were accused by the complainant of threatening him against participating in the Barharwa toll plaza tender process and was later assaulting him.

The Sahebganj police had given clean chit to both Alam and Mishra and had filed charge sheet against eight others on November 11, 2020.

The development assumes significance as the case has been recorded as a predicate offence by the ED on March 8, 2022 in connection with the ongoing illegal mining probe in Sahebganj district.

While CM Soren’s aide Pankaj Mishra is in judicial custody after ED arrested him connection with the illegal mining probe, the probe agency had also questioned the chief minister for around nine hours last month in connection with the case.

Sambhu Nandan had on August 12, 2022, filed an interlocutory application, seeking to make ED a respondent in his writ petition seeking a CBI probe into the case due to alleged biased probe by the state police.

“....considering the submissions of the parties, prima facie, it appears that only to save Alamgir Alam and Pankaj Mishra, the charge sheet has not been submitted against them... it is a matter of concern,” the order said.

The bench said it appears that the toll plaza in question is important as the vehicles cross “from Jharkhand to Bihar and also to West Bengal. “Thus, the toll plaza in question has a role to check illegal transportation.”