The ED raided the premises of a few Bihar government officials, including a chief engineer of the building construction department (BCD), on Thursday as a part of its ongoing investigations in the money laundering case against jailed IAS officer Sanjeev Hans.

The raids covered at least six locations in Patna and were going on till the time of filing the report.

The ED sleuths indicated that a large quantity of cash was seized from BCD chief engineer Tarani Das’ posh bungalow at Purnendu Nagar on the outskirts of the state capital. Several documents related to property and investments have also been seized.

A common factor among those whose premises were searched during the operation was that they had been close to Hans and a senior leader and minister of chief minister Nitish Kumar’s JDU during their recent postings.

The latest action by the central agency came as a surprise because of the fact that the NDA government is in place in Bihar, with the BJP a major partner in it, and the Assembly elections expected to be held towards the end of this year.

Sources said that the raids could be a message to the senior JDU leaders to stick with the NDA and toe the line of the BJP instead of planning against its interests.

The raid caused anguish among the JDU, despite the fact that it is one of the wheels on which Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre is running.

“This seems like pressure tactics aimed at our party, or an effort to show that the NDA governments at the Centre and in the state were against corruption. Otherwise, why conduct raids in an election year to reveal corruption in Bihar,” a senior JDU leader told this newspaper.