Leader of the Opposition and BJP state president Babulal Marandi has accused the Jharkhand government of a deliberate strategy to create new crimes in order to hide existing criminal activities. Marandi stated that the government and its systems have made it a practice to concoct new offenses as a cover-up. The ongoing Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigation into the coal mafia’s operations in Dhanbad has unearthed significant evidence of corruption and illegal activities. However, the situation has taken a dangerous turn with reports indicating that some ‘senior police officers,’ allegedly profiting from the coal trade’s black money, have instructed the mafia to eliminate their lower-level operatives. This directive is reportedly aimed at silencing individuals currently being interrogated by the ED, thereby preventing the disclosure of crucial information. Marandi pointed out that the state has a history of staged ‘evidence encounters’ disguised as anti-crime operations. He specifically referenced a former state DGP, who faced severe accusations of contract killings and unprecedented corruption, even from members of the ruling party. Marandi urged the ED to proceed with extreme caution, warning that in Jharkhand, the prevailing system rewards those who suppress the truth rather than those who reveal it. He concluded that when political power, state machinery, and criminal elements collude, the outcome is the systematic subversion of justice.
