Babulal Marandi, the state BJP President and Leader of Opposition, has accused the Jharkhand government of manufacturing new criminal incidents as a strategy to hide the reality of ongoing illegal activities. He asserted that the practice of fabricating crimes to cover up existing ones is now ingrained within the governmental and systemic apparatus of Jharkhand. Recent Enforcement Directorate (ED) investigations into the pervasive illegal coal trade in Dhanbad have unearthed disturbing facts. A particularly alarming development indicates that senior police officials, allegedly profiting from the black economy of coal, have given ‘targets’ to their mafia contacts to permanently ‘eliminate’ certain ground-level operatives. This alleged directive aims to silence individuals who could provide critical testimony. Information suggests that those currently being interrogated by the ED are the subjects of conspiracy, with their elimination being planned to ensure that incriminating truths remain buried. Marandi highlighted a history in the state where ‘evidence encounters’ have been staged, masquerading as genuine police actions to dispose of crucial information. He referenced a past DGP notorious for allegedly accepting bribes to facilitate staged encounters, a figure even ruling party members had accused of unprecedented corruption and illicit dealings. Marandi cautioned the ED to be highly vigilant, stating that power in Jharkhand lies with those who conceal facts, not those who reveal them. He warned that when power, the system, and criminal syndicates operate in unison, the perversion of justice becomes an inevitable outcome.
