Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has informed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a letter that he will provide his statement to agency officials at 1 pm on Wednesday at his residence. While agreeing to cooperate, Soren accused the questioning of being politically motivated to disrupt his government’s functioning.
Soren’s letter to the ED’s Ranchi office highlighted his preoccupation with the Budget Session of the Legislative Assembly between February 2nd and 29th, stating, “your insistence to record a further statement…reeks of malice and reveals your political agenda.”
He emphasized that such acts are “malafide and politically motivated” and questioned the issuance of the summons.
ED officials visited Soren’s residence in the national capital on Monday night for questioning in connection with an alleged land scam case, stating that the Jharkhand Chief Minister could not be located.
Jharkhand Minister Banna Gupta expressed confidence in Soren’s cooperation with the ED, stating, “I don’t want to make any comments on ED; everything will come to people’s court. People set the narrative regarding what is happening to whom and why is it happening.”
Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan in Ranchi emphasized the rule of law, stating, “Nobody is above the law. We have to work within the Constitution. We want law & order to be maintained.”
Meanwhile, Section 144 CrPc has been imposed within a 100-meter radius of Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren’s residence, Raj Bhavan, and the ED office in Ranchi.
The ED issued fresh summons to Soren, asking for his availability on January 29 or 31, warning that the agency will go to him for questioning if he fails to comply. This marks the tenth summons issued to the Jharkhand Chief Minister by the ED.
On Monday night, ED officials seized a luxury car belonging to Soren from his Delhi residence late Monday in connection with the ongoing probe into a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.