17 locations in Jharkhand, West Bengal raided over 'illegal Bangladeshi infiltration'

India's Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday raided multiple locations in poll-bound Jharkhand, apart from West Bengal, in a money laundering investigation linked to alleged illegal infiltration of Bangladeshi nationals.

A total of 17 places are raided covered in the two neighbouring states by the Jharkhand office of the federal probe agency.

The Jharkhand assembly elections are scheduled to begin on Wednesday, November 13, with the first round of voting. The following phase will take place on November 20. Byelections for six Bengal assembly seats are also set for tomorrow.

In September, the agency filed a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to investigate the infiltration and trafficking of certain Bangladeshi women into Jharkhand, which resulted in the production of claimed slush money.

The case was filed on the complaint of a lady who reportedly sneaked into the nation from across the India-Bangladesh border with the help of touts to find work, had allegedly listed about five to six women as culprits who were apprehended during a raid at a local resort.

The lady who submitted the complaint escaped a comparable institution and arrived at the police station. One of these ladies was also found to be in possession of a "fake" Aadhaar card.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other BJP leaders have accused the state government of aiding such infiltration leading to the altering of the demographic landscape of the tribal-dominated areas of Santhal Pargana and Kolhan regions during the recent poll campaign.

A High Court decision to form an impartial panel to look into the flood of Bangladeshi immigrants was met with criticism from Modi for the Jharkhand government's refusal to accept the infiltration problem.

The first phase of the Assembly polls is slated for 43 constituencies on Wednesday, while the second for 38 seats will be held on November 20.

The ECIR (enforcement case information report) filed by the federal agency under various sections of the PMLA stems from a Jharkhand Police FIR filed at the Bariyatu police station in the state capital Ranchi in June.