Security personnel during the Enforcement Directorate’s raid at Vidyut Bhawan as part of a money laundering investigation against Bihar-cadre IAS officer Sanjeev Hans, who is currently serving as the principal secretary of the Bihar energy department, in Patna on July 16, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on July 17 conducted raids at multiple locations linked to Sanjeev Hans, principal secretary of the energy department and former MLA Gulab Yadav in an alleged disproportionate assets case.
Sources in the ED said that raids were conducted at the residence and office of Mr. Hans, who also holds the post of CMD of Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited (BSPHCL).
The ED team raided the several locations linked to Mr. Yadav in Madhubani, Delhi, Patna and Pune.
During the raids, the ED seized a few items from both locations which included a memory card, pen drive, and computer hard disk apart from some documents.
The raids were conducted for nearly 13 hours in which ED seized a bank passbook, locker, jewellery and documents related to land purchase from the location linked to Mr. Yadav whereas the bank passbook and documents related to transfer posting were seized by ED from the locations linked to Mr. Hans.
The 1997 batch Bihar cadre IAS officer is close to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The ED visited his office at Vidyut Bhavan and also his residence located at the electricity board colony in Shastrinagar area. The raids started in the early morning and continued till late evening.
Gang rape allegations
Both Mr. Hans and Mr. Yadav are close friends who are also embroiled in an alleged gang rape case, filed by a lawyer from the Allahabad High Court.
In January 2023, an FIR was filed against them at the Rupaspur police station in Patna. Initially, the victim faced difficulties getting her complaint registered, but after a court order from Danapur, the FIR was finally lodged by the police.
The legal proceedings are ongoing. According to the FIR, the victim alleged that she was raped by Mr. Yadav and Mr. Hans at a Pune hotel in 2017. She had also accused them of blackmail, threats of violence, and coercion to keep silent. She claimed they threatened her to undergo an abortion, but she gave birth in 2018 and has requested a DNA test to establish paternity.
During the raids, the ED also questioned MLC Ambika Yadav and Bindu Yadav, wife and daughter of Gulab Yadav who had contested the 2024 Lok Sabha election on BSP ticket but lost it.
Gulab Yadav was Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA from 2015 to 2020, however in 2022, he was suspended from the party for six year for indulging in anti-party activities.
Repeated attempts to reach out to both of them by The Hindu turned futile.
