In a strong condemnation, Babulal Marandi, the BJP State President and Leader of Opposition in Jharkhand, has accused the state administration of manufacturing new criminal cases to camouflage existing illicit activities. Marandi asserted that the Jharkhand government and its systemic apparatus have resorted to creating fresh offenses as a means to obscure their failures in tackling crime. Recent actions by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) within the notorious coal mafia landscape of Dhanbad have uncovered deeply troubling details. A significant concern highlighted is the alleged directive from ‘top police officers,’ allegedly enriched by illegal coal money, to eliminate operatives of the coal mafia. This purported order is believed to be a strategy to prevent these operatives from cooperating with the ED and revealing sensitive information. Marandi drew a parallel to past events in the state, where alleged ‘evidence encounters’ were conducted to eliminate witnesses. He referenced a former Director General of Police whose tenure was marred by accusations of facilitating contract killings and extreme corruption, even from within the ruling political circles. He issued a stern warning to the ED, advising them to be extremely vigilant. Marandi emphasized that in Jharkhand’s environment, power lies with those who suppress truth, not those who expose it. He concluded by stating that the confluence of political power, institutional systems, and criminal syndicates makes the perversion of justice an almost unavoidable outcome.
