Jharkhand LoP Babulal Marandi Demands Probe After Senior Cop Accused of Threatening Journalist’s Family

RANCHI: Jharkhand’s Leader of the Opposition (LoP) and former Chief Minister, Babulal Marandi, has shot off a formal letter to Chief Minister Hemant Soren demanding an independent, high-level probe into serious allegations leveled against Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Alok Priyadarshi. The senior police officer stands accused of abusing his official position, blocking a long-standing thoroughfare, and threatening a journalist’s family at gunpoint.

In his letter dated September 30, 2026, Marandi detailed a formal complaint submitted to the Argora Police Station by journalist Syed Sharif Ibrahim, a resident of Ashok Nagar (Road Number 1) in Ranchi. According to the complaint, Ibrahim’s family has been residing on their ancestral land for nearly five decades, using a 40-foot-wide society road for transit since 1964.

The controversy erupted on the evening of September 28, 2026, when DIG Alok Priyadarshi reportedly arrived at the location with his security detail and deliberately parked vehicles to block the main entrance of Ibrahim’s residence, trapping the family inside. The complaint further states that the senior cop and his guards brandished weapons, issued death threats, and made highly offensive remarks targeting the family’s religious identity.

Highlighting the gravity of the situation, Marandi stated that the matter transcends a routine land dispute, raising deeper structural questions about civil rights and the rule of law in the state. He noted that when a top-ranking police official is accused of utilizing state-provided security forces to intimidate ordinary citizens, a reliable and impartial investigation becomes imperative.

Marandi has put forth a six-point charter of demands to Chief Minister Soren, which includes setting up an independent inquiry by a senior official or a dedicated probe agency, ensuring immediate administrative action to open the blocked passage, and providing full state protection to Ibrahim’s family against potential institutional retaliation. He has also urged an inquiry into the specific role played by the DIG’s bodyguards during the altercation.
The Chief Minister’s Office is yet to release an official statement regarding the opposition leader’s intervention.