Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Thursday urged the Enforcement Directorate to refrain from making "sensational statements" on illegal mining "without ascertaining facts and figures".
In a letter to the ED, Soren, who appeared before the officials of the agency during the day for his questioning in a mining lease case in Sahebganj, also said that former JMM member Ravi Kejriwal has made false allegations to "implicate him" in the case at the behest of the BJP.
The CM stated that Kejriwal who was removed from his party, "has become my sworn enemy and I would not be surprised if he has made false allegations against me to settle personal scores". The ED summoned Soren at its regional office here for interrogation in a money laundering case linked to alleged illegal mining in Sahebganj.
The agency said it has "identified" proceeds of crime related to the case to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore till now. "In order to evade royalty of ?1,000 crore… over 8 crore MT of stone is required to be illegally mined in Sahebganj, that is more than four times the legally mined quantity," the CM pointed out.
Soren, in the letter, stated that the "aggregate royalty income from stone mining in the entire state of Jharkhand for the last two years has been around Rs 750 crore against which you (ED) claim that illegally mined stone in Sahebganj alone is Rs 1000 crore”. The CM requested the agency to carry out a fair and impartial investigation without "any hidden agenda or motive".
(With PTI inputs)
