Ranchi: Former Jharkhand Minister Enos Ekka, his wife Menon Ekka, and seven others have been convicted by a special CBI court in Ranchi for large-scale violations of the Chotanagpur Tenancy Act (CNT Act) through fraudulent land deals.
Following the judgment, all nine convicts were remanded to judicial custody. The sentencing will be pronounced on Saturday.
Ekka, who served as a minister between 2005 and 2008 in the governments of Arjun Munda and Madhu Koda, allegedly misused his office to acquire tribal land illegally. The CBI found that between 2006 and 2008, land parcels — including 12 acres in Ormanjhi, 4 acres in Nevri, and 22 kattha in Hinoo — were purchased in his wife’s name using benami transactions.
These illegal transfers were facilitated by administrative officials, including then Deputy Collector of Land Reforms Karthik Kumar Prabhat, in clear violation of the CNT Act.
The court accepted the CBI’s arguments that the scam undermined the very foundation of laws designed to protect tribal communities. The Chotanagpur Tenancy Act, enacted in 1908, bars transfer of tribal land to outsiders and imposes strict conditions even for transactions within the tribal population.
Legal experts describe the verdict as a major reinforcement of the Act’s role in safeguarding tribal rights in Jharkhand.
With inputs from IANS