A significant political controversy has erupted in Jharkhand, with Babulal Marandi, the state BJP president and Leader of the Opposition, accusing the government of a dangerous new tactic: manufacturing fresh crimes to obscure existing ones. Marandi asserted that this deliberate creation of offenses to conceal underlying criminal activities and systemic failures has become a disturbing modus operandi for the administration. The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) recent actions within the extensive coal mafia network in Dhanbad have reportedly uncovered shocking evidence. What is particularly alarming, according to Marandi, is the alleged instruction from certain senior police officials, whose wealth is purportedly derived from illicit coal dealings, to permanently eliminate their lower-level accomplices. This alleged directive seems intended to prevent these individuals from divulging critical information to investigators. There are credible indications that murder conspiracies are being hatched against individuals cooperating with the ED’s inquiries, aiming to bury the truth effectively. Marandi invoked the state’s history, referencing past incidents where ‘evidence suppression’ was achieved through staged encounters. He recalled the widely reported accusations against a former Jharkhand DGP regarding contract killings and unprecedented corruption, claims that were allegedly made by members of the ruling party itself. Marandi strongly advised the ED to proceed with extreme caution, warning that the state’s power structures favor those who silence dissent rather than those who uphold truth. He concluded that when political power, the official system, and organized crime operate in collusion, the compromise of justice becomes almost inevitable.
