Ranchi — Jharkhand BJP president and Leader of the Opposition Babulal Marandi on Thursday levelled serious allegations against Chief Minister Hemant Soren and former DGP Anurag Gupta, accusing them of being involved in illegal mining, corruption, and extortion in the state.
Speaking at a press conference at the BJP headquarters in Ranchi, Marandi alleged that under Hemant Soren’s leadership, Jharkhand has turned into a hub for land scams, illegal appointments, and mining mafia operations.
He claimed that former DGP Anurag Gupta was at the centre of these unlawful networks, running an organised syndicate of extortion and criminal activity with the protection of the state government.
Marandi accused the government of bypassing UPSC norms by retaining Gupta as DGP after his retirement and assigning him dual charges of both the Crime Investigation Department (CID) and the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB).
“Using these two departments, Gupta managed an extortion racket that spread across the entire state,” Marandi said, adding that the former DGP “functioned like a gangster wearing a uniform.”
According to Marandi, Gupta’s appointment as DGP was allegedly the result of a “mutual understanding” between him and the political leadership. He further claimed that in the Bharatmala highway project, 40 per cent of the extorted money went to Gupta while the remaining share was passed up to senior officials.
“When the money flow to the top stopped, Gupta was unceremoniously removed,” he asserted.
Marandi also alleged that Gupta maintained close ties with jailed gangster Sujit Sinha and had direct involvement in illegal coal, sand, and mineral trading. “He personally oversaw this criminal network, using intimidation and fear to extort money from across Jharkhand,” he said.
The BJP leader linked the encounter of criminal Aman Sahu to this nexus, claiming it was staged to cover up illegal operations.
“This is not just corruption; it’s a grave threat to Jharkhand’s internal security,” Marandi warned, demanding an NIA investigation into the alleged nexus between Anurag Gupta, Sujit Sinha, and the Aman Sahu encounter.
He also claimed that the government possessed a recorded conversation between Riya Sinha (wife of Sujit Sinha) and Anurag Gupta, but had chosen not to make it public.
Marandi accused the Hemant Soren-led government of “shielding a uniformed criminal” and fostering a “statewide network of fear and extortion.”
The Chief Minister’s Office has not yet responded to the allegations.
With inputs from IANS