Chhavi Ranjan is a 2011 batch IAS officer (Indian Administrative Service) of Jharkhand cadre. He served as deputy commissioner in many districts of Jharkhand, including Ranchi and Kodma. He was arrested on May 4, 2023, for illegally purchasing and selling land belonging to the Indian Army during his tenure in Ranchi DC.
Wiki/Biography
Chhavi Ranjan was born on Tuesday, December 29, 1981 (age 41; as of 2022) in Kadma, Jamshedpur, Jharkhand (then Bihar), India. His zodiac sign is Capricorn. He studied up to class 10th (1999) at St. Mary’s Hindi High School, Bistupur, Jamshedpur, and studied up to class 11th and 12th at Vidya Bharati Chinmaya Vidyalaya, Telecom Colony, Jamshedpur. He studied BSc (Hons) in Physics from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi and passed the first class examination with distinction. Later, he studied Master of Science (M.Sc.) in Physics at the same university and passed the first level examination. Chhavi passed the UPSC examination in 2011 with an all-India rank of 125 and underwent training at the prestigious Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA) in Mussoorie from August 29, 2011 to May 4, 2012. He subsequently served in many districts of Jharkhand as an IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′ 9″
Weight (approximately): 70kg
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
He comes from a Hindu family.
Parents and siblings
There is not much information available about his parents and siblings.
Chavi Ranjan and his mother
wife and children
In 2022, he divorced his first wife, the lovely Ranjan, and married a woman from another caste. He has a son and a daughter.
Chhavi Ranjan and his ex-wife Lovely Ranjan
Chavi Ranjan’s second wife
Chavi Ranjan’s children
Career Development for IAS
Additional District Magistrate (ADM) and Assistant Collector, Dumka
On May 4, 2012, he joined the Dumka District Administration, Jharkhand, as Assistant Collector and Additional District Magistrate (ADM) with responsibility for land revenue management, district management and divisional management. He served as ADM Dumka till August 25, 2013.
Chakradharpur Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM) and Sub-divisional Officer (SDO)
On August 26, 2013, he joined the Chakradharpur administration in west Singbhum district of Jharkhand as Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) and Divisional Officer (SDO) in the fields of land revenue management, district administration and divisional administration. He served there until August 26, 2014.
Deputy Development Commissioner (DDC), Lohardaga
On August 26, 2014, he joined the Lohardaga District Administration as Deputy Development Commissioner (DDC) and worked on rural development till February 13, 2015.
Chhavi Ranjan during his tenure as Deputy Development Commissioner (DDC) in Lohardaga
Koderma Deputy Commissioner (DC)
On February 14, 2015, he joined the Kodma District Administration as Deputy Commissioner (DC), responsible for land management and district administration. He served there until December 22, 2015.
Chhavi Ranjan (left) attends school classes in Koderma
Dhanbad Municipal Commissioner (MC)
On December 23, 2015, he joined the Dhanbad Municipal Corporation as Municipal Commissioner (MC) and worked on city development till June 26, 2016.
Chhavi Ranjan at the inauguration ceremony of a school in Dhanbad
Joint Secretary, Ministry of Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs
On June 27, 2016, he was promoted as Joint Secretary, Department of Food, Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs, Government of Jharkhand. He served there until June 13, 2017.
Deputy Commissioner (DC), Seraikela Kharsawan
On June 15, 2017, he joined the Seraikela Kharsawan District Administration as Deputy Commissioner (DC) and worked on rural development till June 30, 2019.
Chhavi Ranjan played cricket while serving as deputy commissioner, Seraikela Kharsawan
minister of state agriculture
On July 2, 2019, he joined the Jharkhand Agriculture Department as Director. He is responsible for seed circulation, crop production and food distribution among farmers and will serve there until July 13, 2020.
Chhavi Ranjan congratulates Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren
Deputy Commissioner (DC) Ranchi
On July 15, 2020, he joined Ranchi District Administration as Deputy Commissioner (DC). He has initiated various projects for social uplift including Project Pavitra to create awareness on menstrual hygiene, Transparent Wall to create awareness about government schemes, Bhoomi Vivad Nivaran to resolve illegal land acquisition cases and Sarkar Aapke Dwar in rural Ranchi . He will serve there until July 9, 2022.
Chhavi Ranjan meets President of India Draupadi Murmu on National Voter’s Day
Chhavi Ranjan (center) during Covid-19 lockdown
Director of Social Welfare and Social Security
On July 11, 2022, he joined Jharkhand as Director, Social Welfare and Social Security Department. He was arrested for illegal land dealing on May 4, 2023, when he was the project director of Jharkhand Women Development Association.
Chhavi Ranjan (left) during his tenure as Director of Social Welfare
dispute
illegal felling of trees
In 2015, when Chhavi Ranjan was the deputy commissioner (DC) of Kodma district, he illegally felled five Sagvan trees and one Sheesham tree at the Kodma district council premises, following which an FIR was registered at Markacho police station. His name was not included in the FIR; however, when the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) interrogated workers of the sawmill company, they revealed his name and subsequently his name was added to the charge sheet. They also interrogated Chavi while investigating the case. The matter was later settled and no action was taken against Chhavi as the ACB did not get permission to register the case.
defense land scam
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Chhavi Ranjan on May 4, 2023, for playing a key role in illegal land transactions by forging various land documents. Ranchi Municipal Corporation tax collector Dilip Sharma registered an FIR at Bariatu police station in Ranchi in 2022 for illegal sale and purchase of 4.5 acres of land belonging to the Indian Army and located on Cheshire Home Road ( 1 acre of land in the Cheshire Home Road area. Ranchi. The forgery was discovered during the investigation against Jayant Karnad, following which the case was taken over by the ED. In February 2023, the ED raided the Bargain Circle office and the Registrar of Guarantees office in Kolkata, where they found documents indicating that land documents were forged to sell the land. The ED, while investigating, claimed that the deal took place after a consortium of builders and government officials forged land documents and Chhavi was in Ranchi district when the deal took place.
Security officers raid in an illegal land scam
During its investigation, ED found that BM Laxman Rao was the original owner of the land, who handed it over to the Indian Army after independence. The syndicate asked a person named Pradeep Bagchi to pretend to be the owner of land worth Rs 20 crore and sold it to Dilip Kumar Ghosh, an employee of Jagatbandhu Tea Estate Pvt Limited in West Bengal, at an undervalued price of Rs 7 crore. Rs 25 lakh was paid to Bagchi and the remaining amount was paid by check in the name of the company; however, this was done to show that the transaction was genuine. The ED subsequently arrested seven people, including Imtiaz Ahmed, Pradeep Bagchi, Talha Khan, Faiyaz Khanangle, Md Saddam Hussain, government hospital employee Afshar Ali and revenue sub-inspector Bhanu Partap Prasad of Ranchi’s Bargain Circle office.
Revenue officer Bhanu Partap Prasad (red) arrested by ED for illegal land scam
The ED accused Chhavi of colluding with the syndicate in illegal land transactions and questioned him twice on April 13, 2023 and April 24, 2023. The ED raided over 20 locations in Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal on April 13, 2023, including the house of Chhavi Ranjan, and found numerous land documents, forged seals, documents with multiple offices Guaranteed by a stamp stamped by the office and an official record from the Registrar.
Land documents seized during ED raid at Chhavi Ranjan site
Chhavi Ranjan’s house in Kadma, Jamshedpur raided by ED
ED raided Chahhvi Ranjan’s house in Kadma around 6:30 am on April 13, 2023, after which they found that he had moved to a new home and vacated the apartment. They also found three doors in front of his master bedroom. Chhavi was summoned for questioning on May 4, 2023. He reached the ED office at 10:45 am on May 4, 2023 and after interrogating him for 10 hours, the ED arrested him under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). He will appear in court on May 5, 2023.
Chhavi Ranjan went to the ED office on May 4, 2023 and was subsequently arrested
salary
As of April 2020, his monthly salary falls within the Senior Timescale Level 11 (67700 – 208700) Paygrade.
Facts/Trivia
- Chhavi Ranjan’s parents wanted him to become an engineer. However, he wanted to become an IAS.
- He was one of the front-runners for Karnataka election duties in April 2023; however, his name was removed from the list when it came up in the illegal land scam probe.
- When he divorced his first wife and married a woman of a different caste, his parents stopped speaking to him and began living separately in another house.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education