The CBI on Tuesday conducted searches at 16 locations in three states, including Bengal, in connection with the stone mining scam in Jharkhand’s Nimbu Pahad in which Pankaj Mishra, the alleged political aide of chief minister Hemant Soren, is under the scanner.

The central agency’s crackdown came days before Jharkhand goes to polls in two phases on November 13 and 20. “The agency conducted searches in Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar. It launched an operation at 11 locations in Jharkhand’s Sahibganj, three in Ranchi, and one each in Patna and Calcutta linked to suspects and their associates.

"During the searches, the sleuths recovered ₹50 lakh in cash, 1kg gold and 1kg silver, besides property documents worth crores,” said an agency official. The seizures, the official said, are part of a CBI probe into the alleged illegal extraction of valuable stones from Jharkhand’s Nimbu Pahad. The stones are alleged to have been mined without authorisation and sold in international markets.

The CBI registered the case on November 23, 2023, on the direction of Jharkhand High Court. Sources said the agency had in its FIR booked Pankaj Mishra, Pavitra Kumar Yadav, Rajesh Yadav, Sanjay Kumar Yadav, Bacchu Yadav, Sanjay Yadav and Suvesh Mandal for being allegedly involved in the “pilferage and illegal extraction” of stones at Nimbu Pahad in Sahibganj.

Initially, Jharkhand High Court had directed the CBI to conduct a preliminary inquiry into the conduct of those booked by Sahibganj police. The court then directed the agency to register a regular case after the preliminary enquiry and look into the role of other public servants.