Ranchi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has arrested an alleged middleman Prem Prakash in the early hours of Thursday in relation to the ongoing money laundering investigation into an illegal mining scam in Jharkhand.
ED sources said that Prakash was arrested under several sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) around 2 am on Thursday. They further revealed that he will be produced before a court where ED will seek his custody.
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With Prakash three persons have been arrested in the case so far. Earlier, the Central agency arrested Pankaj Mishra, a political aide of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, and Mishra's associate and muscleman Bachhu Yadav in relation to the case.
The development after the ED raided several premises linked to Prakash in Ranchi along with some places in Jharkhand, Bihar, Tamil Nadu and Delhi-NCR. The Central agency recovered two AK series assault rifles along with 60 live cartridges during the raids.
Jharkhand Police claimed that the weapons were allotted to two security personnel who kept them at Prem Prakash’s residence. The two were suspended after ED seized the weapons.
