Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren Summoned Again By ED In Land Scam Case After Dramatic Events During Last Questioning

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has been summoned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to appear either on 29 January or 31 January in an alleged land scam case.

Soren was questioned for over seven hours last week at his official residence in Ranchi and it was reported that the investigative agency might summon him for a second round of questioning.

According to The Hindu, the ED had earlier asked Soren to join the investigation on any date between 27 and 31 January. But after receiving no official response, it issued a fresh letter-cum-summons.

Soren had joined the earlier questioning after skipping seven summons. In a dramatic turn of events, then an FIR was lodged against 500 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel for allegedly violating prohibitory orders.

While the CRPF officials said that they were there at the behest of the ED, the FIR alleged a lack of coordination with the district administration regarding the CRPF deployment.

The investigation in the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) case revolves around the ED's allegations of a "huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia" taking place in Jharkhand.

The agency has already arrested 14 individuals in connection with the case, including Chhavi Ranjan, a 2011-batch Indian Administrative Service officer who previously served as the director of the state social welfare department and deputy commissioner of Ranchi.