The Jharkhand government faces accusations of orchestrating a cover-up of criminal activities by fabricating new offenses, according to Babu Lal Marandi, the state’s BJP President and Leader of Opposition. Marandi contends that the government and its apparatus have normalized the creation of artificial crimes to mask the real extent of lawlessness. Recent actions by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) against the entrenched coal mafia in Dhanbad have uncovered deeply concerning evidence. The most alarming development is the alleged instruction from influential police figures, reportedly benefiting from illegal coal earnings, to permanently ‘neutralize’ specific operatives within the coal mafia.
There are credible reports indicating that individuals undergoing questioning by the ED are now the subjects of assassination plots, designed to prevent any truthful testimony. Marandi alluded to past occurrences in Jharkhand where criminals were allegedly ‘encountered’ to dispose of evidence rather than being brought to justice. He recalled the tenure of a former DGP widely accused of arranging contract killings and deemed the most corrupt police official in the state’s history, facing criticism even from within the ruling coalition. Marandi urged the ED to operate with heightened vigilance, noting that in Jharkhand’s environment, influence stems from suppressing the truth. He asserted that when political authority, administrative structures, and mafia networks become intertwined, the miscarriage of justice becomes an inevitable consequence.