Ranchi: Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials initiated questioning of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren at his official residence in Ranchi on Saturday, in connection with an alleged land scam case. Responding to the eighth summon by the agency, Soren had requested the questioning to take place at his residence.

The ED is investigating a money laundering case related to an alleged land scam under Section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The probe revolves around a racket involving the illegal change of land ownership in Jharkhand.

The investigation focuses on the illegal purchase and sale of 4.55 acres of land under military control in Ranchi. The ED had initiated the probe based on multiple FIRs filed by Jharkhand Police and West Bengal Police against individuals, including Pradip Bagchi, Bishnu Kumar Agarwal, and Bhanu Pratap Prasad, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Allegedly, a mafia racket illegally transferred land ownership in Jharkhand, involving the forgery of legacy records in Ranchi and Kolkata. Corrupt government employees were also implicated in fabricating land ownership records to benefit the land mafia.

In this case, 14 individuals have been arrested so far, including Revenue Deputy Inspector Bhanu Pratap Prasad. During a raid at Prasad's residence, the ED seized government documents and suspicious materials from his mobile phone.

The ED, through over 40 searches and five surveys, is scrutinizing documents and information related to the case. Assets worth over Rs 161.64 crore in Ranchi were attached by the ED in September 2023, with the total attached assets valued at Rs 236 crore.

In addition to this case, the ED had earlier questioned Hemant Soren for nearly nine and a half hours in November 2022 regarding an alleged illegal mining case. The Chief Minister faces accusations related to the allocation of a mining lease contract to himself while overseeing the Mining Minister's portfolio.

Despite facing eight summonses from the ED, Soren had sought relief from both the Supreme Court and the Jharkhand High Court, claiming the summonses were unwarranted. However, both courts dismissed his petitions.

In a similar vein, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has also declined ED investigation into the Delhi excise policy case, citing misuse of the ED by the Centre. Kejriwal has skipped three summons and may reportedly miss the fourth as well, citing prior commitments.

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