Jharkhand Governor C P Radhakrishnan removed additional chief secretary home Avinash Kumar from his post. Now chief secretary L Khiangte will home the additional charge of home, jail and disaster management department.
On Tuesday, Governor Radhakrishnan had summoned chief secretary L Khiangte, DGP Ajay Kumar and home secretary Avinash Kumar to take stock of the law and order situation in the state when chief minister Soren went missing evading ED.
The removal of Kumar has come at a time when ED is tightening its noose on Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren in a money laundering case.
Kumar is considered close to the chief minister. A 1993-batch IAS Kumar is serving as additional chief secretary energy department. He is holding additional charge of home and jail. He is also holding additional charge of chairman and managing director Jharkhand Energy Development Corporation Limited and managing director Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited.
Avinash Kumar is younger brother of Amitabh Thakur, who was 1992 batch IPS officer of UP cadre. Thakur was sent on compulsory retirement by the Uttar Pradesh government in March 2021 in the public interest.
Avinash Kumar's wife is also facing ED
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had summoned Preeti Kumar, wife of a senior IAS Avinash Kumar in a case related to alleged irregularities in land deal in Ranchi and money laundering. This is probably for the first time that ED has summoned wife of an IAS officer. Preeti Kumar was asked to report to the regional office of ED on January 12, 2024. Earlier, ED has asked Kumar to appear before the central agency on January 3, but she didn't turn up.
The case is related land on which Berlin Diagnostics and Day Care is constructed. The diagnostics and day care is in the name of Preeti Kumar's. On December 5, ED had conducted a survey in Berlin Diagnostics and Day Care.
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