A significant accusation has been leveled against the Jharkhand state administration, claiming a deliberate effort to create new offenses as a means of concealing existing criminal enterprises. Babu Lal Marandi, President of the state BJP unit and Leader of the Opposition, articulated that the government and its systemic apparatus have adopted the practice of fabricating new crimes to mask illicit activities. The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) recent probes into the vast illegal coal operations in Dhanbad have unearthed a trove of incriminating information. A particularly alarming revelation is the alleged directive from senior police officials, whose wealth is reportedly tied to the coal trade, to permanently silence certain ground operatives. This alleged conspiracy aims to prevent individuals providing testimony to the ED from revealing the full scope of the illegal network. Such a strategy of ‘eliminating evidence’ through staged confrontations, rather than through legitimate legal processes, is not without precedent in Jharkhand. The state has a past marred by allegations against police chiefs concerning contract killings and record-breaking corruption, accusations that have even come from within the ruling party itself. The ED is strongly advised to proceed with extreme caution, as the prevailing conditions in the state favor the suppression of truth. When political influence, law enforcement, and criminal elements operate in concert, the perversion of justice is unfortunately a predictable consequence.
