A scathing indictment has been issued against the Jharkhand government by Babulal Marandi, the state’s opposition leader, who claims the administration is fabricating crimes to hide its involvement in illicit activities. Marandi highlighted that the creation of new offenses to mask existing ones has become a systemic issue. Recent Enforcement Directorate (ED) raids on the coal empire in Dhanbad have unearthed a trove of startling evidence. A particularly disturbing aspect is the alleged directive from influential police officers, whose wealth is tied to the illegal coal trade, to eliminate key operatives of the coal mafia permanently. This sinister plan aims to prevent the ED from uncovering the full extent of the corruption. Intelligence suggests that individuals providing information to the ED are now targets for elimination, ensuring that the truth about the coal mafia’s operations remains hidden. Marandi drew parallels to past incidents where ‘encounter killings’ were used to neutralize witnesses and suppress evidence. He alluded to a former Director General of Police who was accused of orchestrating contract killings and of being the most corrupt official in Jharkhand’s history, with accusations even originating from ruling party figures. He cautioned the ED to be extremely careful, stating that in this state, power belongs to those who conceal facts, not those who expose them. When political authority, the administrative machinery, and organized crime operate in unison, the subversion of justice is an almost guaranteed outcome.
