New Delhi: On Monday, speculation around the fate of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren flew thick and fast between New Delhi and Ranchi.
A team of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) visited Soren’s family residence in Delhi’s Shanti Niketan area Monday morning as part of its probe into alleged illegal transfer of land parcels in Ranchi.
Soren had travelled to Delhi for “personal work” just a day after the ED summoned him to appear before it between Monday and Wednesday, Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya told reporters in Ranchi.
Soren is under the ED’s scanner in two cases of money laundering in Jharkhand and the particular case pertains to the transfer of land parcels to a company allegedly on forged documents. The ED has so far arrested 14 people in this case and has served Soren a total of 11 summons.
Soren left for New Delhi Saturday after he was served a summons by the probe agency in the same case last week. Before the fresh summons, Soren was on 20 January questioned by a seven-member team of the agency at his official residence in Ranchi.
When the ED team arrived at Soren’s Delhi residence, he was not present and there was lack of clarity about his whereabouts. The ED left the residence late evening, taking away his personal BMW car.
Soren, however, wrote to the ED Monday confirming his acceptance of the summons and said he would be available at 1 pm Wednesday to record his statement as part of the probe.
Soren has also stated in the mail, which ThePrint has accessed, that summoning him just before the budget session of the Jharkhand assembly, scheduled between 2 and 29 February, “reeks of malice” and “reveals a political agenda” to disrupt the functioning of the state government.
In the mail addressed to ED’s Assistant Director in Ranchi, Soren says that ED officers had asked him 17-18 questions predominantly around discrepancies in documents filed before the Election Commission (EC) while three-four questions were about a land parcel in Ranchi which he said did not belong to him.
“Over a span of seven hours, you and your team put 17/18 questions to the undersigned. The undersigned duly replied to all your questions. Most of your questions related to purported inaccuracies in the affidavits filed by the undersigned with the Election Commission and 3/4 questions related to a plot of land at Bargai (Ranchi colony) which you wrongfully alleged was owned and possessed by the undersigned,” Soren wrote in the mail.
“The undersigned’s apprehensions that your acts are malafide and politically motivated stand vindicated. The issuance of summon to the undersigned is wholly vexatious and in colourable exercise of powers given by the statute. Without prejudice to the undersigned’s rights, all of which are expressly reserved, the undersigned shall record his statement on 31st January 2024 at 1 pm at his residence,” Soren said.
However, since Soren has not appeared in public to quell uncertainties around his whereabouts, Jharkhand Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan has summoned the state Director General of Police (DGP) Ajay Kumar Singh, Chief Secretary Lalbiaktluanga Khiangte and Home Secretary Avinash Kumar to the Raj Bhavan.
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Speculation of arrest
As news broke of the ED landing at the residence of Soren — who heads the JMM, the ruling party in Jharkhand — party spokesperson Manoj Pandey created a storm by telling the media that Soren could be arrested.
However, he told ThePrint Monday evening that his statement was based on what he was reading on social media and watching on TV about ED sleuths landing at Soren’s residence. He said it was now clear that arrest was not on the cards.
“The ED might have gone to collect some documents and that arrest was not the idea. However, in the current political scenario, the BJP and its government (at the Centre) can go to any level. But they should understand that all the people of Jharkhand would come on the streets to protest if the CM is arrested,” Pandey added.
Babulal Marandi, chief of the opposition BJP in Jharkhand, claimed on X Monday that Soren had gone “absconding” since Sunday night and was incommunicado.
Jharkhand Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan also commented on the development and urged that Soren should obey the law and respond to the ED.
“If the CM is not responding today, he has to respond tomorrow… As true citizens, we must obey,” he said to reporters in Ranchi.
JMM general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya said the CM would return after concluding his “personal work”.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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