On January 15, 2026, the Jharkhand Police conducted a raid on the regional office of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Ranchi. This action was prompted by a First Information Report (FIR) filed by Santosh Kumar, a former employee of the state's drinking water and sanitation department, on January 12, 2026. Kumar alleged that two ED officials, Assistant Director Pratik and Assistant Shubham, subjected him to a "deadly attack" and "thrashed" him during an interrogation at their office on January 13, 2026, in connection with an alleged ₹23 crore water supply scam. He claimed to have sustained injuries, including a head injury requiring six stitches, and was allegedly threatened against disclosing the incident. Following Kumar's complaint and the ED officials' failure to comply with a police summons, a team led by DSP (Sadar) Sanjeev Besra initiated an operation inside the ED office. The police collected CCTV footage as part of their investigation into the assault allegations. In response, the Enforcement Directorate moved the Jharkhand High Court on January 15, 2026, seeking a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the police raid, alleging direct interference in its functioning. The ED, in its petition, also claimed that Santosh Kumar had inflicted self-injuries to implicate the agency officials. On January 16, 2026, the Jharkhand High Court observed that the police raid prima facie appeared "pre-planned." Justice Sanjay Kumar Dwide stayed the police investigation against the ED officers based on Kumar's FIR. The Court further directed the Union Home Secretary to depute central paramilitary forces, such as CRPF or BSF, to provide security to the ED office and its officers, holding the Ranchi SSP directly responsible for any security lapses. This incident marks a significant escalation in the ongoing tensions between state and central investigating agencies in Jharkhand.