ED arrests Lalu aide Subhash Yadav in sand mining case

Enforcement Directorate sleuths have arrested Subhash Yadav, a close aide of RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav, as part of a money laundering probe related to alleged illegal sand mining in the state, official sources said on Sunday (March 10).

Searches at half a dozen premises of Yadav and his associates were launched in the state capital on Saturday by the central agency as part of the ongoing probe.

Yadav was arrested late on Saturday night and about ₹2.3 crore cash was seized from the various premises that were raided, the sources said.

Alleged to be the "key syndicate member" of the sand mining racket, Yadav is expected to be produced before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Patna on Monday. He had contested elections on an Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) ticket in the past, the sources said.

The money laundering case stems from a clutch of 20 FIRs registered by Bihar Police against a company called Broadsons Commodities Pvt. Ltd. (BCPL) and its directors, alleging that they were engaged in illegal mining and sale of sand without using e-challans.

Past arrests

Last year, the ED had arrested Bihar MLC and JD(U) leader Radha Charan Sah, his son Kanhaiya Prasad and directors of Broadsons Commodities Mithilesh Kumar Singh, Baban Singh and Surendra Kumar Jindal in the case and they are currently lodged in jail under judicial custody.

The agency had filed a charge sheet against them before a Patna special PMLA court in November 2023.

The alleged sand trade is controlled by a syndicate which invested funds in the said company and the syndicate earns profit by illegally selling sand, which is nothing but proceeds of crime, according to the ED.

The ED has claimed that proceeds of crime to the tune of ₹161 crore were generated in this case.

(With inputs from agencies)