Page 29 - Jharkhand

Jharkhand's over 25K FPS dealers join nation-wide 'Ration Bandh' agitation

Over 25,000 fair price shop dealers from Jharkhand on Monday joined the nation-wide indefinite 'Ration Bandh' call given by All India Fair Price Shop Dealers' Federation (AIFPSDF). The strike might impact over 65 lakh beneficiaries covered under national and state food security schemes in Jharkhand, if it goes long, an office bearer of the dealer association said. General secretary of Jharkhand unit of Fair Price Shop Dealers Association (FPSDA) Sanjay Kundu told PTI that the 'Ration Bandh' call has been given in protest against the Central Government's failure to ensure a minimum monthly income guarantee for the dealers and some other issues. "The agitation has been called to press for various demands of the FPS dealers such as ensuring minimum monthly income guarantee of Rs 50,000 for dealers, implementing the recommendations of World Food Program and allowing distribution through e-PoS device by inserting aadhaar number of the cardholders in case of emergency," he said. Kundu sa

Raids, cash hauls, political turmoil jeopardise Jharkhand's journey in 2023

It was a power-packed year for Jharkhand with high-profile arrests, political turmoil, searches and raids, cash hauls, deaths and gunfights between Naxals and security forces. The year began tumultuously with the Jain community and Santhal tribes staking claim over 'Parasnath' or 'Hill deity Marang Buru'. Chief Minister Hemant Soren remained in the news throughout the year for skipping as many as six summons by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged land and illegal mining scam. The year was saw the arrest of IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan. On a positive note, the year saw implementation of an outreach scheme aimed at delivering benefits of government schemes to people, benefiting 58 lakh people. Players from the state performed well in national and international events. The government's crackdown on Maoists was severe. In all, 397 Maoists were arrested, nine killed, and 26 surrendered to security forces. Security forces also managed to free 'Budha Pahad' in Garhwa and Latehar in ..

Money laundering case: ED writes to Jharkhand CM seeking his availability

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a letter-cum-summons to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren seeking his availability for questioning in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam, official sources said on Saturday. Soren, 48, has been asked by the central agency to inform the investigating officer of the case about the date, venue and time of his choice so that his statement can be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said. The agency has sought a response from the chief minister by December 31, failing which it will initiate further legal action under the provisions of the anti-money laundering law. This is the seventh notice or summons issued to Soren but he has never deposed before the ED. The first was issued for August 14. He had filed a petition before the Supreme Court and then the Jharkhand High Court seeking protection from the ED action and terming the summons "unwarranted". Both the courts had dismissed his ...

Tata's TCIL to invest over Rs 1,785 cr in manufacturing unit in Jamshedpur

The Tinplate Company of India Ltd (TCIL), a unit of Tata Steel, on Friday said it will invest Rs 1,787 crore for setting up a 3-lakh-tonnes-per-annum manufacturing facility in Jharkhand's Jamshedpur. The facility, an expansion project, is scheduled for commissioning in 2026, and is likely to generate about 600 direct and indirect employment opportunities, TCIL said. A pact was inked between the company and the Jharkhand government in this regard at a ceremony to mark the completion of four years of the JMM-led government in the state. "... This landmark MoU heralds the establishment of a cutting-edge 300,000 Tons per Annum (TPA) manufacturing facility in Jamshedpur, backed by an investment of approximately Rs 1,787 crore," TCIL said in a statement. The facility will not only enhance Tinplate's manufacturing capabilities with advanced technology and automation, but also contribute significantly to both domestic and export markets, bolstering the state's industrial growth, it said.

Tribals, Dalits will be eligible for pension on reaching 50 years: CM Soren

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Friday announced that tribals and Dalits in the state will be eligible for pension benefits on reaching the age of 50 years. Soren made the announcement while addressing a function on Ranchi's Morabadi ground organised to mark the completion of four years of the JMM-led government in the state. "The government has decided to provide pension benefits to tribals and Dalits on reaching the age of 50 years. The death rate among them is high and they do not get jobs after 60 years," he reasoned. Soren claimed that only 16 lakh people had received pension benefits in the 20 years after the formation of Jharkhand in 2000 but his government has provided pension to 36 lakh people, mostly those aged above 60 years. "In four years of our government, we have given pension benefits to 36 lakh people above 60 years of age, widows above 18 years of age and also physically challenged persons..." he said. Soren asserted that his government was relentlessly

397 Maoists arrested, 9 killed, 26 surrendered in J'khand this year: Police

Jharkhand police on Friday said 397 Maoists were arrested, nine killed, and 26 surrendered before security forces across the state this year. A special area committee member, a regional committee member, five zonal commanders, and 11 sub-zonal commanders were among those arrested. These individuals had a combined bounty of Rs 1.01 crore on their heads, a statement said. Police also seized 152 arms, including 27 police weapons, 10,350 ammunition, and 244 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) over the past 12 months. The state police headquarters released the data on the occasion of the Hemant Soren government's four-year anniversary. Police said over the past four years, 1,617 Naxals have been arrested, including members from banned outfits such as CPI (Maoist), People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI), Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC), and Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP). Since January 1, 2020, a total of 74 Maoists surrendered before the security forces, and 792 arms

Maoists blow up portion of railway tracks in Jharkhand, 13 trains cancelled

Members of the banned CPI (Maoist) blew up a portion of railway tracks in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district, disrupting train services on the Howrah-Mumbai route for several hours, police said on Friday. At least 13 trains were cancelled and one has been diverted due to the incident, a railway official said. The incident occurred late Thursday night in the Chakradharpur division of South Eastern Railway between Mahadevsal and Posoita stations, around 150 km from the state capital Ranchi, West Singhbhum Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Sekhar said. "Security has been tightened in the locality. The repair work on the railway tracks has been started from early morning," he said, adding that Maoists also put up banners and posters in the area. Chakradharpur Division Assistant Commercial Manager Vinit Kumar told PTI that train operations in the division have been restored around 9 am on Friday. Around 10:08 pm on Thursday, an explosion occurred between Mahadevsal and Posoita station

Sebi to auction properties of 5 cos on Jan 22 to recover investors money

Capital markets regulator Sebi has said it will auction 13 properties of five companies, including Sunheaven Agro India and RaviKiran Realty India, along with that of promoters and directors on January 22 to recover money illegally collected from investors. The other firms whose properties will be auctioned are Just-Reliable Projects India Ltd, Orion Industries, and Rakhal Bharoti group of companies. The properties will be auctioned at a reserve price of Rs 15.08 crore, according to a public notice issued by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Monday said. These assets include land parcels in West Bengal and Jharkhand. Further, Quikr Realty has been engaged by Sebi to assist in the sale of these properties. Of the 13 properties, seven are related to Rakhal Bharoti group of companies, two each of Orion Industries Ltd and Just-Reliable Projects India and one each of Sunheaven Agro India, and Ravikiran Realty. Inviting bids for the sale of the properties in the reco

Centre formally allocates Latehar coal block in Jharkhand to NLC India

The Centre has formally allocated a coal block in Jharkhand to NLC India Ltd, the state-owned entity said on Friday. The PSU had emerged as successful bidder for North Dhadu (Western Part) mine in Latehar district of Jharkhand under commercial auctions held in August. "The vesting order (for coal blocks was) issued by Secretary (Coal) to NLC India Ltd in the ceremony conducted on December 14, 2023," NLC India Ltd said in a filing to the BSE. This coal mine has reserves of 434.65 million tonnes and its peak rated capacity is three million tonnes per annum. NLC India is a Navratna company under the coal ministry. The core business of the PSU is mining and power generation.

Hemant Soren is neck-deep in corruption, behaving like monarch: BJP leader

Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate summoned Soren in connection with the alleged land scam case

ED summons Jharkhand CM for questioning in money-laundering case on Tuesday

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a fresh summons to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for questioning in a money-laundering case linked to an alleged land scam on Tuesday, official sources said. Soren has been asked to depose at the federal agency's office here and get his statement recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said on Monday. The summons for the chief minister is for December 12, they added. This is the sixth notice issued to Soren, but he never deposed as he filed a petition before the Supreme Court seeking protection from the ED action. The probe pertains to the ED alleging that a "huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by mafia was going on in Jharkhand". The agency has arrested 14 people in the case, including 2011-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Chhavi Ranjan who had earlier served as the director of the state social welfare department and deputy commissioner of Ranchi. The 48-year-old

Rs 351 crore cash haul in I-T raids against biz group linked to Cong MP

The cash seizure in the income-tax department's searches against an Odisha-based distillery company, owned by a Congress MP's family, has been calculated at Rs 351 crore after five days of counting and is the "highest-ever" haul in a single action by any probe agency in the country, official sources said on Sunday. The premises of the Congress Rajya Sabha MP from Jharkhand, Dhiraj Prasad Sahu, in Ranchi and other places, were also covered during the searches by the department. The company and the member of Parliament did not respond to PTI's queries regarding the action being carried out against them. The marathon raids against Boudh Distillery Private Limited, its promoters and others entered the fifth day on Sunday. The raids were launched on December 6 by the taxman on charges of tax evasion and "off-the-book" transactions. The sources told PTI that Rs 351 crore cash has been counted and the process has ended. The counting involved nine teams of about 80 people from the tax ...

Clarification sought from Dheeraj Sahu: Jharkhand Congress in-charge

Jharkhand Congress in-charge Avinash Pandey on Sunday said that a clarification has been sought from party MP Dheeraj Sahu in connection with the recovery of huge cash from premises linked to him. Pandey, however, clarified that is it a private matter of Dheeraj Sahu and the party has nothing to do with it. "Since he is Congress MP, he should make an official statement about how such a big amount of money came to him," Pandey said while speaking to media persons at Ranchi's Birsa Munda airport. He also said, "The party has a clear-cut stand that it is a private matter of Dheeraj Sahu, which has nothing to do with the Congress party. A huge pile of cash has been recovered so far in the searches conducted by the Income Tax department against Odisha-based Boudh Distillery Private Limited and entities linked to it. Premises linked to Sahu were also covered as part of the searches, according to officials. The seizure amount is expected to reach Rs 290 crore, making it the "highest-ever

'Why is Rahul Gandhi silent on Dheeraj Sahu's matter?': G Kishan Reddy

Income Tax sleuths have, so far, recovered more than Rs 200 crore cash from several locations in Odisha and Jharkhand during their raids against companies allegedly linked to Sahu

Rs 200 crore cash recovery: Cong distances itself from Jharkhand MP Sahu

The Congress on Saturday distanced itself from its Jharkhand Rajya Sabha MP Dheeraj Sahu after the recovery of a huge amount of cash from a liquor company linked to him. "The Indian National Congress is in no way connected with the businesses of Dheeraj Sahu, MP. Only he can explain, and should explain, how huge amounts of cash have been reportedly unearthed by the income-tax authorities from his properties," AICC general secretary Communications Jairam Ramesh said in a post on X. The Income Tax department recovered over Rs 225 crore cash during a series of raids on an Odisha-based distillery group on charges of tax evasion. Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday assured the people that the money looted from the public will be returned. Taking to X, the Prime Minister said, "The countrymen should look at the pile of these notes and then listen to the honest speeches' of their leaders ..Whatever has been looted from the public, every penny will have to be returned, this is Modi's ..

Amit Shah to chair 26th meeting of Eastern Zonal Council in Bihar on Sunday

The meeting is being organized by the Inter-State Council Secretariat under the MHA in collaboration with the government of Bihar

Cyclone Michaung weakened into low-pressure area in Jharkhand: IMD official

Earlier on Wednesday, IMD Director General Mrityunjay Mohapatra said that the cyclonic storm Michaung has weakened and won't have any disastrous impact

Jamshedpur-based Kross files Rs 500 crore maiden IPO papers with Sebi

Kross Ltd -- a specialist in manufacturing forging components for top OEMs -- has filed preliminary papers with capital markets regulator Sebi to raise Rs 500 crore through an Initial Public Offering (IPO). The maiden public issue of the Jamshedpur-based company comprises a fresh issue of shares worth up to Rs 250 crore and an Offer for Sale (OFS) of shares aggregating up to Rs 250 crore by promoters, according to the Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) filed on Thursday. The OFS portion consists of equity shares to the tune of up to Rs 168 crore by Sudhir Rai and Rs 82 crore by Anita Rai. The company may undertake a pre-IPO placement of its securities worth up to Rs 50 crore. If such placement is undertaken, the fresh issue size will be reduced. Kross proposes to utilise the net proceeds of the fresh issue for the purchase of machinery and equipment, payment of debt, and funding the working capital requirements of the company. Besides, a portion will be used for general corporate

Three workers rescued from Uttarakhand tunnel return to Jharkhand

Anil Bedia, Rajendra Bedia, and Sukra Bedia returned to their village late on Friday night

Jharkhand puts hospitals on alert amid pneumonia outbreak in China

The Jharkhand government has put its hospitals on alert, asking them for surveillance, preventive measures and testing of respiratory illness cases in the backdrop of a mysterious pneumonia outbreak in China, officials said on Saturday. In a letter to the district administrations, Additional Chief Secretary for Health Arun Kumar Singh directed them to remain prepared and keep a constant vigil on the situation. "In view of the recently reported surge in respiratory illness, especially in children in Northern China, in the recent weeks, this is to bring to your kind notice that there is an urgent need to keep a constant vigil, monitor trends of cases and quickly respond to any emerging public health," Singh said in the letter. In view of the ongoing influenza, there might be an increase in respiratory illness cases, he said. "This is predominantly attributed to usual causes like Influenza strain (H1N1/H3N2/H5N1/H9N2 etc.), mycoplasma pneumonia, SARS-CoV-2, etc," Singh said. "In orde