The Enforcement Directorate (ED) launched a major crackdown on Thursday, conducting simultaneous raids in Bihar's Muzaffarpur and Motihari districts and across five other states. The operation is linked to a sprawling organized cheating racket and a related money laundering investigation involving a massive government job scam.
Early Morning Raids and a Fleeing Accused
In Muzaffarpur, an ED team raided a rented house located at Rambagh Chauri Nahar Road, Lane Number 15, under the Mithanpura police station area around 6 am. This was the suspected residence of a key accused in the fraud gang. However, the main accused, identified as Mantu Shah, had already fled the premises before the officials arrived. The ED team carried out a thorough five-hour search at the location.
Officials seized a trove of documents related to the scam, details of suspicious bank accounts, and other incriminating evidence. Family members present at the house were questioned at length during the search operation. The house owner, Nand Kishore Gupta, stated he only learned about the raid later and confirmed that Mantu had left the house in the morning.
The Vast Network of the Fraud Gang
Investigations revealed the shocking scale of the scam. While the case initially surfaced in the name of Indian Railways, probes uncovered that the gang's operations were far more extensive. The fraudsters impersonated over 40 government organisations and departments to deceive job seekers.
The list of impersonated entities includes:
- Indian Railways (RPF, TTE, technicians)
- Forest Department
- India Post
- Income Tax Department
- High Court
- Public Works Department (PWD)
- Bihar Government
- Delhi Development Authority (DDA)
- Rajasthan Secretariat
The gang's modus operandi was sophisticated. They created fake email accounts mimicking official government domains to send fraudulent appointment letters. To build credibility, they even disbursed an initial salary for two to three months to some recruits placed in railway roles, making the scam appear legitimate.
Multi-State Operation and Money Laundering Links
Beyond Bihar, the ED's coordinated raids stretched to West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh, indicating the gang's pan-India footprint. Preliminary findings suggest the gang exploited unemployed youth by promising government jobs for large sums of money.
The collected money was then allegedly routed through various accounts and channels, raising strong suspicions of systematic money laundering. The ED is scrutinizing the seized transaction records and bank details to trace the full money trail.
In a parallel raid in East Champaran district, the ED team targeted the residence of Saksham Srivastava, son of Ramu Srivastava, in Amwa village, Kotwa block, Motihari. Saksham is accused of defrauding numerous individuals of lakhs of rupees by falsely promising railway jobs. He has a prior criminal case registered against him concerning monetary transactions in this matter and has served jail time.
As of now, the Enforcement Directorate has not issued any official statement regarding arrests or property seizures. The investigation is ongoing as officials piece together the evidence collected from the multiple raid locations across the country.
