Jharkhand’s Chief Minister Hemant Soren is summoned by the Enforcement Directorate. As soon as the news broke, Manoj Pandey , Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader alleged the Centre of Politics. Pandey claimed, ” PM should also be summoned in several cases.”
JMM leader said, “We’ll approach the Court if there’s injustice. Don’t know if the ED can summon a Chief Minister. If so, the Chief Minister will respond after consulting legal experts.”
BJP state president,Deepak Prakash while reacting to ED’s summon to Hemant Soren said, “The law will not spare the one who does wrong. Jharkhand people are apprised of the fact that Hemant Soren has taken an illegal mining lease in the name of his Press Advisors, his key aide MLA Pankaj Mishra, and his wife. There has been a scam of thousand crores. If the ED is summoning the Chief Minister, it is a welcome move.”
When asked about the party leader of the JMM’s accusations that the Centre was engaging in “vendetta politics,” Deepak Prakash responded that those making the accusations are the ones who were responsible for stealing Jharkhand’s mineral wealth and that Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leaders have decided to pillage the underprivileged.
Saumitra Khan, another BJP leader from West Bengal supported the ED’s move. She said, “One always has to pay for wrong deeds. If the Chief Minister did something wrong then he will pay for it.”
The ED’s action came almost a month after it seized a passbook and a chequebook, along with two signed checks, belonging to Soren from the residence of his alleged close associate Pankaj Mishra. Mishra, who served as Soren’s representative and had considerable influence over illegal mining operations and inland ferry services in Sahebganj and its surrounding areas through his associates, also enjoyed political clout.
Mishra is currently being held in judicial custody for having control over the installation and use of several crushers installed across multiple mining sites in the Sahebganj district of Jharkhand, as well as the mining of stone chips and boulders.
The ED disclosed the information following the filing of a Prosecution Complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, against Pankaj Mishra, Bachhu Yadav, and Prem Prakash before the special court in Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand.
47 searches were carried out by the ED in various locations across India during the investigation, leading to the seizure of cash worth Rs 5.34 crore, the freezing of bank balances worth Rs 13.32 crore, the freezing of the inland vessel MV Infralink III, reg. No. WB 1809, five stone crushers, two Hyva trucks, as well as the seizure of incriminating documents and two AK 47 assault rifles.
Hemant Soren, the chief minister of Jharkhand, was called to testify before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on November 3 in connection with an investigation into potential violations of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and a money laundering case involving unauthorised mining in the Sahebganj district.
