Babulal Marandi, the Jharkhand BJP State President and Leader of Opposition, has accused the state government of inventing new crimes to mask ongoing criminal activities. He asserted that the government and its associated systems have developed a disturbing pattern of fabricating incidents to hide the reality of rampant crime. The recent Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids in Dhanbad’s lucrative coal trade have exposed significant evidence of illegal operations. A particularly concerning development is the alleged directive from influential police officers, who are reportedly profiting from the coal mafia’s ill-gotten gains, to ‘permanently silence’ some of their ground-level operatives. This is perceived as a strategy to eliminate individuals from whom the ED is seeking information, thereby preventing the disclosure of incriminating facts. Marandi highlighted that the state has a history of staged encounters, where criminals are apprehended under the pretense of law enforcement, but in reality, evidence is eliminated. He referenced a past Director General of Police (DGP) who faced accusations of accepting bribes for staged encounters and widespread corruption, even from within the ruling coalition. The opposition leader advised the ED to be highly vigilant, emphasizing that truth-tellers are suppressed in Jharkhand, while those who conceal facts thrive. He concluded that when power, bureaucracy, and criminal syndicates converge, the denial of justice is virtually assured.
