The Enforcement Directorate is learnt to have gained digital records showing that the accused architect Vinod Singh, who is considered an associate of former CM Hemant Soren in the land scam case, had connived with the staff of the Ranchi District collectorate and personnel of National Informatics Centre (NIC)in Ranchi to indulge in the land scam- manipulating land records to sale and purchase lands for investment in real estate. 

ED’s investigations have reportedly revealed that the modus operandi adopted by accused Vinod Singh was simple. He used his Pune-based relatives, set up a gang comprising staff of the office of Ranchi Deputy Commissioner, Circle officer, Ranchi, and staff of the NIC, and committed the land scam, it is alleged.

NIC, a central government body, was established in 1976 to provide technology-driven solutions to Central and State Governments in various aspects of development. 

 NIC has been instrumental in adopting, providing, and managing computer systems to build upon the commonalities that exist in the arena of land records in various States including Jharkhand. 

Aware that NIC staff together with staff of the Deputy Commissioner ( Collector) and Circle Officer operated digital records of land ownerships, accused Vinod Singh of conniving with them and fraudulently changed ownerships of several plots of government tribal lands to non-tribals. 

Together with digital defrauding, the Vinod Singh gang members under the support of “ top functionaries” also learnt to have defrauded hard copies of land records kept inside the state Ranchi District Collector-ate complex. 

Two staff of the Ranchi DC office-run Land Record Room, Shekhar Kudhwaha and Kumud Ranjan were allegedly involved in defrauding hard copies of land records in league with Vinod Singh and his gang.  

Apparently, to derail the ED’s gathered evidence in the land scam case involving a number of accused including ex-CM Hemant Soren and Vinod Singh, miscreants had cut through the iron grilles of the record room late on April 5/6 night and reportedly stole files containing records of several land parcels. 

The Ranchi administration lodged an FIR with the Kotwali police station on April 6. The investigation is still on. 

Official records show that ED had filed a Prosecution Complaint (PC) in the land scam case related to Hemant Soren. 

The High Court has also taken cognizance of this. On March 30, ED officers filed a Prosecution Complaint (PC) in the special court of Ranchi under the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act). 

In this case, former Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the main accused, and Bhanu Pratap, a land revenue employee of the Bargain area, are currently lodged in judicial custody in Birsa Munda Central Jail.