Ranchi, Oct 14 (IANS): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) was conducting raids at 20 locations in Jharkhand on Monday, targeting individuals close to state Minister Mithilesh Thakur, including his personal secretary Harendra Singh, IAS officer Manish Ranjan, and businessman Vijay Agarwal.

The raids are part of an investigation into alleged irregularities in the Jal Jeevan Mission.

The ED teams searched various locations in Ranchi and Chaibasa, including Vijay Agarwal's residences on Ratu Road, Harmu, and Morhabadi, as well as the homes of IAS officer Manish Ranjan and Minister's PS Harendra Singh. Security forces were deployed to ensure smooth operations.

Several documents and electronic devices were reportedly seized during the raids. The investigation is based on complaints of corruption and discrepancies in the implementation of the Jal Jeevan Mission across several districts in Jharkhand. FIRs have been registered in several cases, and the ED is working on these reports to widen its probe.

Mithilesh Thakur, a key figure in the Hemant Soren government, represents the Garhwa Assembly constituency. It is speculated that the investigation could extend to Thakur himself as the ED's probe intensifies.

These raids follow previous ED actions over the weekend, linked to a money laundering case involving a land scam. Earlier raids on October 8 in Ranchi, Dhanbad, and Patna targeted various officials, including the Dhanbad District Transport Officer and several circle officers, with numerous documents recovered during the searches.

Recently, during a public meeting in Hazaribagh, Prime Minister Narendra Modi voiced concerns over the irregularities in the Jal Jeevan Mission. Complaints regarding discrepancies in the implementation of the scheme have been surfacing for some time, drawing attention to the need for a thorough probe

The Central government's Jal Jeevan Mission aims to provide safe drinking water through household tap connections.

Assembly elections are expected to be declared soon in the state.