New Delhi, Oct 10 (IANS) The Supreme Court on Friday granted bail to suspended Jharkhand-cadre IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan, who has been in jail for over two years in connection with a money laundering case linked to the alleged Army land scam in Ranchi.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi allowed Ranjan’s plea for bail, directing him not to leave the country without prior permission of the court and to cooperate fully with the investigating agencies.

Ranjan, a 2011-batch IAS officer, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on May 4, 2023, under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He had been in since then after both the special PMLA court and the Jharkhand High Court rejected his bail applications.

The ED has filed two money laundering cases against him. The first involves the alleged purchase and sale of about one acre of land on Cheshire Home Road in Ranchi using forged documents — in which the High Court had earlier granted him bail.

The second case pertains to the illegal transfer of around 4.5 acres of Army-occupied land in Bariatu, Ranchi, for which the Supreme Court has now extended relief.

According to the ED, Ranjan, during his tenure as Deputy Commissioner of Ranchi, played a central role in facilitating the illegal transfer of land by allegedly misusing his position and conspiring with land dealers and officials.

The agency claims the proceeds from the transactions were laundered through multiple channels.

Besides Ranjan, the ED has named several other accused in the case, including businessman Vishnu Agarwal, Revenue Sub-Inspector Bhanu Pratap Prasad, and land dealers Afsar Ali, Fayaz Khan, Mohammad Saddam, Imtiaz Khan, Talha Khan, Amit Agarwal, Dilip Ghosh, and Pradeep Bagchi, who allegedly posed as a fake tenant to aid the fraud.

Ranjan has previously served as Deputy Commissioner in Ranchi and Koderma districts before being suspended from service following his arrest.

Ranjan is now set to walk out of jail after the Supreme Court order.

–IANS

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