A strong accusation has been leveled against the state government of Jharkhand by opposition leader Babulal Marandi. He alleges that the government is resorting to the creation of new crimes as a strategy to hide its involvement in, or complicity with, existing criminal activities. Marandi pointed to the recent ED raids in Dhanbad’s coal sector as evidence, revealing a dark nexus. He highlighted the disturbing revelation that senior police officials, allegedly benefiting from illegal coal dealings, have instructed their operatives to ‘permanently silence’ individuals who are providing information to investigators. There are credible reports of plots to assassinate those currently being interrogated by the ED, aiming to prevent any damaging truths from emerging. Marandi drew parallels to past incidents where ‘evidence encounters’ were allegedly orchestrated to eliminate witnesses. He recalled a previous Director General of Police in Jharkhand who faced accusations of accepting bribes for staged encounters and of setting new benchmarks for corruption. The opposition leader cautioned the ED to be exceptionally careful, noting that in Jharkhand, truth-tellers are suppressed while fact-hiders prosper. He warned that when political power, the administrative system, and criminal cartels operate in unison, the perversion of justice becomes an inevitability.
