Hemant Soren arrested in land scam, ED  tightens noose after 8 hours of questioning!

Hemant Soren Arrested  Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday resigned from his post at Raj Bhavan after being questioned by the ED. After this, the ED arrested Hemant Soren. Soren is the  15th  accused in the land scam case. Earlier,  14 accused had been arrested. Now the ED will seek remand after presenting Soren in court.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday evening in connection with a land scam case.

The ED arrested Hemant Soren on Wednesday in connection with the Ranchi land scam. The ED will produce Hemant Soren in court on Thursday for his custody. The ED will approach the court with strong evidence against Hemant. After being taken into ED custody,

Hemant submitted his resignation from the post of Chief Minister to Governor CP Radhakrishnan late Wednesday evening. The governor also accepted his resignation.

Soon after Hemant’s resignation, the Grand Alliance staked a claim to form the new government with 43 MLAs. Here, after the resignation of Hemant Soren, the ED arrested him and took him to his office on Wednesday night.

Hemant reached Raj Bhavan at around 8.30 pm. At eight o’clock in the night, Hemant Soren met the MLAs of the ruling party. After this, Champai Soren was elected as the leader of the legislature party. Champai Soren will be the new Chief Minister of the state after Hemant Soren.

Earlier on Wednesday afternoon, at around 1.30  pm, the ED team led by Assistant Director Devvrat Jha arrived. According to the information,  the ED sought information from Hemant Soren regarding the source of Rs  36  lakh found during the raid at the Delhi residence.

During the raid at the Delhi residence, the agency had found documents related to the land scam and several investment-related papers. The ED also inquired about all these documents. The agency has also asked Hemant about the activities of the night of  28-29 January.

ED officers questioned Hemant for about six and a half hours and then arrested him while making him an accused in a land scam. JMM MP Mahua Maji told the media about the arrest of Hemant Soren.

He will now be produced before the special ED court on Thursday. The ED will request the court to take him on remand and interrogate him on remand if allowed.

Hemant was confused over the sale of land and bank accounts of his wife’s company

According to the information, the ED officials sought a reply from Hemant Soren in the purchase of  8.46 acres of land in Badgai. Hemant Soren had earlier told the ED in a letter that this land is of Bhuihri nature. It cannot be bought and sold.

Also, the Pahan family was said to have had this land for the last five decades, but the ED officials showed evidence related to the existence of different families of the land and their possession of it. The ED officials also cited the statement of the CO, the arrested zonal revenue sub-inspector.

The political atmosphere heats up, CS-DGP also arrives

The political atmosphere of the state heated up amid the interrogation of Hemant Soren. During the interrogation, Additional Chief Secretary of Home Department Avinash Kumar was removed. Late in the evening, Chief Secretary L Khiangte, DGP Ajay Kumar Singh, DG CID Anurag Gupta, and other officials reached the spot. During the interrogation, MLAs of the ruling coalition were also camping in CM House. A camp jail was set up in Deendayal Nagar to keep Hemant Soren in custody.

ED wrote a strong letter on CM’s dilly-dallying

In the land scam case, the ED had questioned the Chief Minister since January  20 and told him that the interrogation was not yet completed and that one more day would be questioned. Following this, the ED had asked him to give a date and place for questioning between January 27  and 31. On this, the Chief Minister sent a reply to the ED that he is currently busy, and soon he will tell the date and place for questioning.

On this, the ED wrote a strong letter to the Chief Minister and said that he should give time for questioning on 29 or 31, otherwise, the ED will decide the interrogation according to itself. Meanwhile, the Chief Minister left for Delhi.  When the ED did not get any response from the Chief Minister till January 28 and the ED received information that the Chief Minister was in Delhi, on this information,  the ED raided the Chief Minister’s residence and Jharkhand Bhawan in Delhi on  January 29.  

The Chief Minister was not found, but Rs  36 lakh, a BMW car, and documents related to the land scam were found in his residence. The ED duly seized him.  On January 29,  the raid was being conducted in Delhi, the Chief Minister was missing from there, in the meantime,  a letter was sent from the CMO to the ED’s office in Ranchi that the Chief Minister would be present in the Chief Minister’s residence for questioning at 1 pm on January  31.  Based on this letter from the CMO, the ED team reached the CM’s residence at 1 pm on January  31 and arrested him after questioning.

ED has been questioned in an illegal mining case

In Jharkhand, the ED is investigating money laundering in several different cases.  In the 1250 crore illegal stone mining case in Sahibganj, the ED questioned Chief Minister Hemant Soren for nine hours on  17 November 2022. During this questioning, the ED had also asked him to give details of his movable and immovable assets. The CM had also submitted details of his property. Now the role of Chief Minister Hemant Soren is also being investigated in the land scam case.

The ED, which is investigating money laundering in the illegal purchase and sale of  4.55  acres of land used by the army, also raided the house of Bhanu Pratap Prasad, revenue sub-inspector of Badgai zone, during the raid. A huge amount of government documents were recovered from Bhanu Pratap Prasad’s hideout. At that time, documents related to some such land were also found, in which there was forgery. The ED is investigating the role of the Chief Minister in connection with the said land.

Ravi Kejriwal opened the secret of Chief Minister

The ED had mentioned in the charge sheet filed in the illegal mining case that expelled former treasurer Ravi Kejriwal of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha had described Prem Prakash as close to the Chief Minister in his statement. Ravi Kejriwal had said that one day he was sitting with Chief Minister Hemant Soren in his office, where Hemant Soren had directly instructed Pankaj Mishra to give the money coming from stone and sand mining in Santal areas to Prem Prakash.

After this, it was decided that after taking the said amount, Prem Prakash would give it to businessman Amit Agarwal. Pankaj Mishra is the MLA representative of the Chief Minister’s Barhait assembly constituency, who was arrested by the ED last year in illegal mining. Prem Prakash and  Pankaj Mishra were arrested in illegal mining cases while Amit Agarwal was earlier arrested in a land scam. According to the ED chargesheet, Prem Prakash had taken advantage of being close to the Chief Minister and Amit Agarwal.

ED investigation proceeds based on the complaint filed at Bariatu police station

On June 4, 2022, in case number  141/2022 at Bariatu police station in Ranchi, Ranchi Municipal  Corporation lodged an FIR in the case of forgery of land occupied by the army and taking two holdings on fake documents.

On the same basis, the ED proceeded with the investigation by registering ECIR No.  18/2022  on  21 October 2022. The same ECIR ED had also added case number 399/2022  on September  8, 2022, to the Sadar police station in the fraudulent purchase and sale of one acre of land in Cheshire Home Road.

Investigation of all these cases revealed that a gang of land mafia is active in the state, which prepares fake documents of land in Kolkata and Ranchi. Based on forged documents, this gang sells plots to other persons. The ED raided 41 locations and conducted surveys at five places in this case.

The raids unearthed forged seals of the Land Revenue Department, forged land documents, proof of division of proceeds of crime among fraudsters, photographs related to forgery, and evidence of bribing government officials.

Hemant Soren handed over the command to his confidant Champai Soren

Champai Soren will take oath as the  12th  Chief Minister of Jharkhand after the arrest of Hemant Soren in a land scam. Champai Soren was the Transport and Welfare Minister in the Hemant government. As soon as the information about the arrest of Hemant Soren was received, the meeting of the legislative party of the Grand Alliance was held and Champai Soren was unanimously elected the leader of the legislature party.

After this, all the MLAs of the Grand Alliance along with Hemant Soren turned to Raj Bhavan. The parties involved in the coalition claimed to present the government by keeping the majority figure.

Champai lives in a lot of headlines

Significantly, Champai Soren remains in the headlines. Last year, there was a dispute between a senior officer of the Transport Department of the Jharkhand Government and Champhai. The officer had ordered a crackdown on registered vehicles in Nagaland. Angered by this, the minister had asked for all the files with him.

Also, as a minister, he had directed the state transport commissioner to only handle day-to-day work. Not only this, he instructed to send files related to policy and financial matters to the Transport Minister. There was a lot of ruckus in the department regarding this matter. Hemant Soren also had to come forward regarding this controversy.

Famous by the name of Jharkhand Tiger.

Champai Soren is also called by the name of Jharkhand Tiger. Champai Soren is an MLA from Seraikela and got a chance to become a minister for the second time. It is known that Champai Soren used to do farming before coming to politics. But then Shibu has been an ally of Soren. On many occasions, Hemant Soren has also been seen touching his feet. Not only this, Hemant Soren has been taking advice from him on important topics from the government to the party.

When the demand for a separate Jharkhand state arose in the 90s, Champai along with Shibu Soren actively participated in the Jharkhand movement and became famous as the ‘Jharkhand Tiger’. After this, Champai Soren started his political career by becoming an independent MLA in the by-election from his Seraikela seat.  

He later joined the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).  Champai Soren was made a cabinet minister in the government led by BJP leader Arjun Munda. During this time he had important ministries. Champhai was a minister from September 11,  2010  to January 18, 2013. After that President’s rule was imposed and then Champai Soren became the Minister of Food and Civil Supplies and Transport in Jharkhand under the leadership of Hemant Soren.

Why did Hemant Soren replace his wife Kalpana with ‘Tiger’ Champai as  CM?

On Tuesday, when Hemant Soren held a meeting with MLAs in Ranchi, Kalpana Soren was also present in it. After this, speculation was intensified that Kalpana would be given the command. Because she was not an MLA or a minister, she was involved in the meeting. However, in the end,  the final stamp was put on the name of Champai Soren. Champai Soren, MLA from Seraikela seat,  is the Minister for Transport, Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and Backward Class Welfare in the Hemant government. He is also the vice president of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha.

Didn’t the fear of rebellion in the family create the imagination?

It is being said that if Hemant Soren did not make his wife Kalpana CM, then the biggest reason behind this is the possibility of rebellion in the family. Hemant Soren’s elder sister-in-law and MLA from Jama seat Sita Soren had openly said that she did not approve of Kalpana’s leadership.

Claiming the post of CM, Sita Soren had said that if Hemant leaves the chair, he should be made the Chief Minister, because she is a three-time MLA along with being the elder daughter-in-law of the family.

Confusion about by-elections also due to reason

Recently, when JMM MLA Sarfaraz Ahmed resigned from the Gandeya seat, it was believed that the place for Kalpana Soren had been vacated. However, there is less than a year left in the assembly elections, and in such a situation, citing court decisions, BJP leaders were claiming that the by-election could not be held on the Gandey seat. It is believed that even because of this skepticism, Hemant Soren chose Champai instead of Kalpana.

Champai is a veteran leader loyal to the Soren family

Champhai, who is called the Tiger of Jharkhand, is a veteran leader of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha. He is considered very close to the Shibu Soren family. He is also called Hemant Soren’s ‘Yes Man’.  When the demand for a separate Jharkhand state arose in the 90s, Champai along with Shibu Soren actively participated in the movement. Champai has also been a minister in the Arjun Munda government.

Hemant Soren played the ‘tribal card’, FIR against ED officers

ED may arrest Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren Such information has created a stir in the political corridors. Meanwhile, CM Hemant Soren has lodged an FIR against some ED officers on his behalf.

There is a buzz in political circles that Hemant Soren has played the tribal card through FIR. However, whatever it is, let us tell you in  10 points what CM Soren has said in the FIR.

FIR lodged against them: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday lodged an FIR against ED officials Kapil Raj, Debabrata Jha, Anupam Kumar, Aman Patel, and unidentified others under the SC/ST Act at the SC/ST police station in Ranchi. All these officers belong to the ED’s zonal office in Ranchi.

What Hemant Soren wrote.

He wrote that ED officials had asked him to stay in Ranchi from  29  to  31 January. Meanwhile, his residence in Delhi was raided without prior notice in his absence. Soren has stated in the FIR that he belongs to a Scheduled Tribe, but none of the said ED officials were related to the SC-ST Act.

Soren said that he has been mentally and socially tortured by this false, artificial act of the ED. He is hurt. Through the above officers of ED, an attempt has been made to defame him among the public by spreading confusion in the media.

CM also gave details of being in Delhi

The FIR lodged by the chief minister also mentions his presence in Delhi. CM has written that on  27 and 28 January he went to Delhi. There he stayed at  5/1 Shanti Niketan. This complex has been taken on lease by the Government of Jharkhand. This residence and office have been taken for their use.

The CM has said that on January  29, he received information that the above officials conducted a search operation in the said residential complex. The said raid took place without any notice. After this, the said officials had asked them to stay in Ranchi on  29 and 31.

The CM also said that through the media, on January  30, he had seen the news of ED’s raid at Jharkhand Bhawan in Delhi, the Chief Minister’s residence. On this day he came to Ranchi.

Clarification on cars and cash

Chief Minister Soren has said in the FIR that an attempt was made to defame him through raids in Delhi. There was a propaganda against him in the media. He said a BMW car and a huge amount of cash were found in his premises in Delhi. Soren said that this car was not his.

Defamed for being a tribal community.

CM Soren has said in the FIR that the car does not belong to him. They belong to the tribal community, so there was an attempt to defame them. He has applied to the SC-ST police station and requested legal action by registering an FIR against the above officers. On the application of CM Soren, an FIR has been registered under case number  06/2024  at the SC-ST police station in Ranchi.

CM said, “The ED is investigating MNREGA. However, the team has not even gone to those districts regarding the case. They want to go elsewhere through MNREGA. Like the excavation of Mohenjodaro, excavation is being done everywhere. Let’s see how far it wants to go. Their intentions seem to be something else.”

Hemant Soren said “It seems that the Election Commission itself is in a hurry, it is unconstitutional. Things will be kept with promptness. Who is filing the PAIL that did it against my father too? Look at his credibility. There is personal interest,  they are diverting the issue. We came to court with this.  We will not answer to the BJP, we will answer to the court. They are walking around with horns. The MNREGA case dates back to 2008, at that time I was not even an MLA.”

He said “Will Hemant Soren scam for  80 decimals? What to talk about. He has a stomach ache. They do not see how much scam the PSU is doing.  It is not happening in coal, it is happening in sand,  it is happening in stone. Everything is on their regime.”

Jharkhand bandh called against Hemant Soren’s arrest.

Several tribal organizations, including the Tribal-Mulwasi-Sadan of Jharkhand, have announced a  Jharkhand bandh on February 1 against the arrest of Hemant Soren. During the bandh, schools, colleges, shops, buses, and other means of transport will be closed in all district headquarters and towns except emergency services. The workers of the organizations will come out on the road and make the bandh successful.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) general secretary Vinod Pandey said that according to information received from various social media platforms, a bandh was called on February 1 due to the current political situation, which is shown in the name of JMM. JMM denies this news. He appealed to his leaders and workers to exercise restraint.

Conclusion By aAditri Digital

The arrest of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in connection with a land scam has sent shockwaves through the political landscape. The Enforcement Directorate’s (ED) action, following an intense eight-hour interrogation, has added a significant chapter to the ongoing investigations into corruption and illegal activities involving top officials.

Hemant Soren’s arrest marks a critical moment in the state’s political history, leading to his resignation and the subsequent nomination of Champai Soren as the new Chief Minister. The ED’s focus on a complex web of land scams and illegal activities, involving prominent political figures, has brought to light the deep-rooted corruption in the system.

The political aftermath is notable, with the Grand Alliance swiftly staking a claim to form the new government. However, the arrest has also fueled controversies, as Hemant Soren has retaliated with an FIR against ED officials, claiming harassment and targeting on tribal grounds.

The situation has escalated to the extent that various tribal organizations have called for a Jharkhand bandh, protesting Hemant Soren’s arrest. The unfolding events underscore the urgency for a thorough and impartial investigation into corruption allegations, and the legal battles that ensue will likely shape the political landscape of Jharkhand in the coming days.

Hemant Soren’s arrest serves as a stark reminder of the need for transparency and accountability in governance, and the repercussions will undoubtedly resonate in both state and national politics.