The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a letter-cum-summons to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren seeking his availability for questioning in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam, official sources said on Saturday.
Soren, 48, has been asked by the central agency to inform the investigating officer of the case about 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. The agency has sought a response from the chief minister by December 31, failing which it will initiate further legal action under the provisions of the anti-money laundering law.
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. He had filed a petition before the Supreme Court and then the Jharkhand High Court seeking protection from the ED action and terming the summons "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.
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.
