The Enforcement Directorate (ED) Jharkhand unit arrested Jharkhand cadre IAS Chhavi Ranjan at around 10pm on Thursday after over 10 hours of questioning in connection with involvement in alleged illegal land deals.

The 2011 batch IAS, Chhavi Ranjan, 42, at present the director social welfare department, was sent to judicial custody at Birsa Munda Jail in Ranchi on Friday morning after being produced in the court of special judge CBI-cum-PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) Dinesh Rai at Ranchi.

The ED had prayed for the remand of the accused for 10 days during the hearing, but the court decided to send the IAS to judicial custody and the remand prayer of the ED would be heard again on Saturday by the same court.

The ED had on April 24, too, questioned Ranjan for about 10 hours in connection with its money laundering investigation into alleged illegal land deals.

In this regard, the ED had also conducted raids at multiple locations in West Bengal, Bihar, and Jharkhand, including his residence in Ranchi. According to sources, the IAS officer, while serving as the deputy commissioner of Ranchi, allegedly used the Calcutta registry office for forgery in the army land case.

So far, seven accused persons have been arrested in the land scam case of the ED. They were produced in court and sentenced to judicial custody.

According to the ED, there is a nexus operating in this case that had allegedly sold multiple plots by forging documents.

Even the rightful owners are unaware that their plots have been sold, ED sources said.

Significantly, the ED started investigating the land scam on the basis of the report of the then Commissioner of Ranchi, Nitin Madan Kulkarni. After conducting an inquiry in connection with the land occupied by the army, the commissioner submitted the report to the government.

The inquiry report indicated that army land was occupied on the basis of a fake name and address.

Incidentally, this is the second IAS to be arrested by the ED from Jharkhand.

Last year (May 11) former mining secretary Jharkhand, Pooja Singhal, was arrested for money laundering charges and her involvement in the MGNREGA scam during her tenure as deputy commissioner of Khunti district (between February 2009 and July 2010).

At present, Singhal is lodged in the Birsa Munda Central Jail after her bail plea was rejected by the Supreme Court.

The ED has also questioned two more IAS officers. Deputy commissioner Sahibganj, Ramniwas Yadav, for alleged involvement in illegal stone mining done by influential persons, including Pankaj Mishra (the political representative of chief minister Hemant Soren in Barhait constituency). He was quizzed by the ED on January 23 and February 6.

Former principal secretary to the Jharkhand chief minister and at present principal secretary Panchayati Raj department, Rajeev Arun Ekka was quizzed by the ED on March 27 and March 28 this year on allegation of signing official documents in the private office of Vishal Choudhary who is an accused in graft charges and whose house in Ranchi was raided by the department earlier.