Ruling JMM named Champai Soren as the new chief minister of Jharkhand as ED took Hemant Soren into custody in a money laundering case
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) took Hemant Soren into custody and subsequently arrested him shortly after the ruling JMM announced that Champai Soren will take over as Jharkhand chief minister. The developments take place as ED probes Hemant Soren in a money laundering case linked to a land scam and questioned him over the same on Wednesday.
Before his arrest, Soren tendered his resignation as Jharkhand chief minister to Governor CP Radhakrishnan at the Raj Bhavan and was then taken to the ED office here.
Soren (48) was "evasive" in his replies during his questioning and hence was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), news agency PTI quotes sources as saying.
The ED is expected to produce Soren before a special PMLA court here and the agency will seek his remand for custodial interrogation, the sources said.
Outgoing Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren's arrest comes two days after the ED tried to "hunt" him after not finding him at his New Delhi residence from where the probe agency sleuths had seized two cars, including a BMW, and Rs 36 lakh cash.
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The investigation pertains to a "huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia" in Jharkhand, according to the ED.
Amid a "hunt" for him, Hemant Soren reappeared on Tuesday in Ranchi and meetings with ruling alliance, his party Jharkhand Mukti Morcha and the Congress. His wife Kalpana Soren, who is not a legislator, was also present at the meetings, which had sparked speculation that she might be elevated to the post of chief minister in case of Hemant Soren's arrest.
Hemant Soren, in a post on X, shared a poem to give the message that he "will not compromise".
"It's a break... life is a great battle... I have fought every moment, I will fight every moment... But I will not beg for compromise," the post read.
Meanwhile, Hemant Soren also moved the Jharkhand High Court on Wednesday night. While the reason why he moved court was not known, his petition will be heard by the bench of Acting Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Anubha Rawat Choudhary at 10.30 am on Thursday.
Champai Soren, born in 1956, is the current state transport minister, is a seven-time MLA and represents the Seraikella constituency. He was as an Independent MLA before joining the JMM, a move he made when he was an active part of the movement demanding separate statehood for Jharkhand.
Champai Soren, popularly known as ‘Jharkhand Tiger', has been a legislator from the Serikela assembly constituency for more than three decades since 1991 and is also known to be a loyalist of JMM supremo Shibu Soren.
Born in Jilinggora village of Jharkhand's Seraikela-Kharsawan district, Champai Soren is a matriculate and father of seven children. He is the son of a farmer and is not related to the Hemant Soren's family.
Champai Soren, reportedly has the support of over 41 MLAs, which is also the majority mark in the 80-member assembly.
A day after an ED team visited the Jharkhand CM and JMM executive president's Delhi residence to question him, sources close to Soren said that the 48-year-old Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader came by road from Delhi, undertaking a more than 1250 km journey.
When the "hunt" for "missing" Soren was on, his chartered plane on which he travelled from Ranchi to Delhi was parked at Delhi airport, while the phones of several people part of his staff were also switched off.
Soren travelled to Delhi on Saturday (January 27) night came in the backdrop of the ED asking him whether he would be available for questioning on either January 29 or January 31.