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Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren convened a meeting with MLAs from the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and Congress at his Ranchi residence on Tuesday. The gathering focused on discussions about navigating the current political landscape and the impending questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
Earlier in the day, Soren, who was reportedly missing since January 27, arrived in Ranchi via road. The ED team had visited his Delhi residence on Monday in connection with a money laundering investigation related to an alleged land scam.
In anticipation of the ED’s questioning, Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) was imposed within a 100-meter radius of the Chief Minister’s residence, Raj Bhavan, and the ED office in Ranchi. Soren had communicated to the ED via email, agreeing to record his statement on January 31 at 1 pm at his residence. The agency had issued fresh summons last week, providing two options for availability on either January 29 or January 31.
JMM leader Manoj Pandey expressed strong objections to the situation, accusing an elected government of harassing an elected CM. He questioned the urgency of the probe on January 29, highlighting that Soren had already confirmed availability on January 31. Pandey characterized the actions as an insult to the people of Jharkhand and the tribal community.
The Enforcement Directorate had recorded Soren’s statement on January 20 during a visit to his official residence in Ranchi. The recording, conducted under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), spanned about seven hours. In response to the ED’s insistence on recording a further statement by January 31, Soren wrote a letter expressing concerns about the timing and perceived political motives behind the probe. He asserted that the summons were vexatious and indicated a politically motivated agenda to disrupt the state government’s functioning.
