The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday arrested Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.
A team of ED officials had accompanied Soren to the Raj Bhavan and arrested him moments after he tendered his resignation from the post of chief minister.
Soren was arrested under the the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 (PMLA). According to the ED, he was among the key beneficiaries of the alleged land scam in Ranchi that took place over the years and involved property dealers and businessmen.
Soren had evaded ED summons on several occassions before he finally appeared for questioning on January 20.
The then Jharkhand CM was again asked to appear before the agency between January 27 and 31 but he skipped the summons.
A fresh summons was issued on January 27, asking him to confirm his availability on either January 29 or January 31.
However, the ED didn’t recieve his confirmation and it’s officials went to his Delhi residence on the morning of January 29 but by the time they reached, he had already left for an undisclosed location.
On the same day, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) released a statment saying the chief minister has confirmed his availability for ED questioning on January 31.
ED sources claimed Soren went off their radar and was untraceable throughout the day. After camping at his residence for more than 12 hours, the ED officials seized two cars, and Rs 36 lakh cash.
The BJP also claimed that the Jharkhand CM has gone missing and announced a reward of 11,000 on any information about his whereabouts.
However, Soren appeared in Ranchi today and held a meeting of MLAs from the ruling JMM-Congress alliance. During the meeting, state transport minister and his loyalist Champai Soren was elected as the new leader of the Legislative Party.
Around 1 pm, a team of ED officials reached his residence in the state capital and questioned him for around six-seven hours before he was put an under arrest at the agency’s Ranchi office.