Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a seventh summons to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren under PMLA and asked him to record his statement in the ongoing land scam case, sources said on Saturday (December 30). The ED issued a letter-cum-summons to Soren seeking his availability for questioning in the money laundering case.
The Chief Minister has been asked by the central agency to convey to the investigating officer the date, venue and time of his choice so that his statement can be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said.
Soren has been asked to respond to the letter by December 31, failing which the agency will initiate further legal action under the provisions of the anti-money laundering law.
Seventh summons to Soren
This is the seventh notice or summons issued to Soren but he has never deposed before the ED. The first was issued for August 14.
Soren had filed a petition before the Supreme Court and then the Jharkhand High Court and sought protection from the ED action, terming the summons as “unwarranted”. Both the courts had dismissed his petition.
Soren had claimed in the High Court that the summons was issued out of malice and false allegations had been levelled against him with the sole motive of creating political uncertainty and unrest in Jharkhand.
The probe pertains to a “huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia” in Jharkhand, according to the ED.
14 arrested so far
The agency has arrested 14 people in the case, including 2011-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Chhavi Ranjan who had earlier served as the director of the state social welfare department and deputy commissioner of Ranchi.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader was questioned by the ED in November last year in another money laundering case linked to alleged illegal mining in the state.
(With PTI inputs)