Jharkhand’s ruling establishment is facing severe criticism from opposition leader Babulal Marandi, who claims the government is manufacturing new criminal cases to obscure its failure to address rampant crime. Marandi asserted that in Jharkhand, the practice of inventing new offenses to conceal underlying criminal enterprises has become commonplace for both the government and the established systems. Investigations by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) into the illicit coal trade in Dhanbad have brought to light significant incriminating details. A particularly disturbing revelation is the purported ‘order’ issued by ‘high-ranking police officers,’ allegedly benefiting from coal black money, to permanently silence their associates involved in the ground operations of the coal mafia. There are credible reports indicating that individuals currently under ED scrutiny are being targeted for murder to prevent them from revealing crucial information. This tactic of staging ‘evidence encounters’ in the guise of police action has a precedent in the state. Jharkhand has a history with a DGP accused of accepting contracts for staged encounters and of being the most corrupt police chief the state has ever seen, with allegations of widespread corruption even coming from within the ruling coalition. The ED must proceed with utmost vigilance, as the prevailing environment favors those who bury facts, not those who expose them. When political power, administrative structures, and criminal syndicates coalesce, the suppression of justice is an inevitable outcome.
