Enforcement Directorate is conducting raids at the premises of Birendra Kumar Ram, Chief Engineer of the Rural Works Department, Jharkhand.

When contacted, Ram declined to speak. None of his four family members in Ranchi and Patna who were contacted telephonically for comment on the ED’s raid, said anything.” We are not aware of the raid”, said one of them in Patna.

Birendra Kumar Ram has his own background. In a letter dated November 11, 2021, to the Director General of Police, Jharkhand Rural Development Minister Alamgir Alam had sought “bodyguards” for Chief Engineer Ram( letter enclosed for your perusal).

Ask him why he sought bodyguards for Birender Ram, but Minister Alamgir Alam refused to reply.

Notably, Birendra Kumar Ram has been wanted by the investigating agencies for long after Rs 2.45 crore cash was recovered from his premises four years ago.

In 2019, Kumar’s wife Raj Kumari had tried to secure a BJP ticket for the Assembly seat of Kanke and Jugsalai. But the BJP high command declined to give her a ticket.

On June 21, 2022, Jharkhand High Court, responding to a case related to non-payment of the pension of a retired staff had observed that he is “ not competent to hold the post … why should not you be jailed.”

The ED sleuths were searching documents and digital devices in residences of Ram in 24 places including Ranchi, Patna, Delhi and other locations in the country in money laundering case. 

Since raids were continuing, the details of recovery made by ED sleuths were kept secret by them.