Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday was taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a money laundering case pertaining to a land scam in the state. Following his arrest, Soren tendered his resignation from the Jharkhand CM post.
Champai Soren is set to be the new chief minister of Jharkhand.
Quoting an official, a Hindustan Times report said the probe agency has evidence that Hemant Soren is the key beneficiary in the alleged land-related irregularities in Ranchi, where a network of brokers and businessmen worked to create fake deeds of landed parcels by forging records in the registrar offices and further selling them off over the years.
“We have evidence that Hemant Soren had grabbed some parcel of land under probe in Jharkhand, which was illegally obtained by others through falsified documents,” an officer was quoted by Hindustan Times as saying on the condition of anonymity.
Timeline of Events Leading to Hemant Soren’s Arrest by ED-
- August 8, 2023: The ED issued a summon to then-Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren for the first time for questioning in connection with the land scam case.
- August 14, 2023: Hemant Soren asked the federal agency to withdraw the summons warning of legal actions. Soren stated that he had already provided all the necessary information and documents.
- December 11, 2023: ED issued fresh summons to Hemant Soren for questioning in connection with the land scam case. He was asked to appear before the agency on December 12.
- January 16, 2024: After several summons by the federal agency, Hemant Soren told ED he would record his statement at his secretariat on January 20. This was the eighth summons by the probe agency to the JMM leader.
- January 20, 2024: ED recorded Soren’s statement for the first time in connection with the money laundering case.
- January 23, 2024: ED again issued a fresh summon to Soren asking him to be available for questioning between January 27-30.
- January 26, 2024: Soren acknowledged the summons by the probe agency and said he will reply in due course.
- January 29, 2024: A team of ED officials visited Hemant Soren’s Delhi residence as part of the investigation into the land scam case. The former Jharkhand CM went ‘untraceable’ for two days only to appear in Ranchi on Tuesday and call a meeting of the legislators of the ruling JMM-led coalition.
- January 30, 2024: Hemant Soren took the signatures of the lawmakers on the letter of support without any name. He also denied allegations by the BJP leaders that he went “missing” following scheduled raids and questioning by the ED.
- January 31, 2024: Hemant Soren was taken into custody following questioning by the ED in connection with the land scam case. Soren tendered his resignation from the top post making way for Champai Soren to be the next Jharkhand CM.
Hemant Soren has filed a writ petition in Jharkhand HC against ED summons. The case will be taken up at 10:30 am on February 1. He is likely to spend the night at the ED office in Ranchi and be produced before the court on Thursday.
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