The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for interrogation on November 3 in a money laundering case involving illegal mining in the state, the officials informed on Wednesday.
He has been summoned to appear before the investigation agency on Thursday at the ED’s regional office in Ranchi. Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the agency intends to question and record his statement.
ED summons J’khand CM Hemant Soren for questioning on Nov 3 in money laundering case linked to alleged illegal mining: officials
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) November 2, 2022
Notably, ED, in this case, has already arrested Soren’s political close aide Pankaj Mishra. Mishra who currently is in judicial custody was arrested on July 19 this year. It has also conducted numerous searches across the country in this case over the last few months. Mishra and his accomplices Prem Prakash and Bacchu Yadav were labeled as the main accused in the Rs.1000 crore scam in the ED’s 162-page charge sheet.
Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, asking him to appear before its Ranchi-based office for questioning in connection with the illegal mining case on November 3: Sources
— ANI (@ANI) November 2, 2022
(File photo) pic.twitter.com/wssNdVcqvr
“The CM has been summoned to appear before the investigating officer for questioning on Thursday.” During our investigations against his aide Pankaj Mishra, some facts were revealed that need to be verified,” an ED official said.
To date, the ED has conducted 47 search operations and seized cash worth Rs 5.34 crore, bank balances worth Rs 13.32 crore, and an inland water vessel worth Rs 30 crore, in addition to five stone crushers, two trucks, and two AK 47 assault rifles which were later claimed by Jharkhand police as its own. Banking documents and cheques purportedly bearing the chief minister’s name were also recovered from the searched premises, according to officials.
On July 8, the ED raided Mishra and his associates in Sahibganj, Barhait, Rajmahal, Mirza Chauki, and Barharwa in Jharkhand, covering 19 locations in the case linked to alleged occurrences of illegal mining and extortion and reportedly seized cash amounting to Rs 11.88 crore lying in 37 bank accounts of Pankaj Mishra. “The PMLA investigation revealed that Mishra, who wields political power as the chief minister’s representative, MLA from Barhait, Sahibganj, Jharkhand, controls illegal mining businesses as well as inland ferry services in Sahibganj and its surrounding areas through his associates.”
According to the agency’s prosecution complaint (the equivalent of a charge sheet) to a PMLA court, the MLA had a “fixed share almost in all mines” and material transportation and also controlled the installation of crushers.
The ED also claims that Mishra and his associates used to undertake the illegal mining by intimidating district officials by using the CM’s name. They are also accused of using the Chief Minister’s political influence to avoid any action in the illegal mining case.
On August 25, the Election Commission recommended that Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren be disqualified from serving in the State Legislative Assembly. In a report to the governor of Jharkhand, the EC recommended that Hemant Soren be removed from his position as MLA. This effectively means that Soren will have to step down as chief minister.
The nodal election body reportedly informed Soren that he used his position as Chief Minister to award himself a stone mining lease in June 2021. The Opposition BJP first raised the issue with State Governor Ramesh Bais. Following political outrage, Hemant Soren surrendered the land, and the Jharkhand Advocate General even told the State High Court that the State government had made a mistake.
