The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has sent the sixth summons to Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren asking him to appear before the federal agency for questioning in connection with a money laundering probe related to alleged fraudulent sale and purchase of land in Ranchi, officials aware of the matter said on Monday.
“The chief minister is expected to appear at the zonal office of the agency in Ranchi on Tuesday,” an official said.
The Jharkhand high court dismissed Soren’s plea against the fifth summons. He first moved the Supreme Court over it. The top court directed him to file his plea before the high court.
Soren, who is the executive president of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, is yet to challenge the high court order.
On October 4, Chief Minister Hemant Soren skipped the fifth summons issued to him by the Enforcement Directorate. The probe agency summoned him for questioning in a money laundering case pertaining to land grabbing in the state, however, Soren failed to appear.
Soren had challenged the ED summons in Jharkhand High Court as he had filed a petition with a plea to stay the summons issued by the probe agency.
Soren moved the state High Court after his petition to the Supreme Court was rejected and he was directed by the apex court on Monday to approach the concerned High Court with his plea against the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons.
A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi refused to entertain the plea filed by Soren. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for the Jharkhand Chief Minister sought to withdraw the plea.
The ED wants Soren to appear for recording his statement regarding properties owned, possessed and occupied by him. The ED has served five summons to Soren in less than two months. The CM, on the other hand, has ignored the earlier four summons, which had required him to appear on August 14, August 24, September 9 and September 23. The ED, on its part, has remained persistent, issuing summon after summon.
The JMM has alleged that there is an effort being made to target the Jharkhand Chief Minister, who hails from a tribal community. The Centre is using its agency to build a narrative against Soren, but the people of Jharkhand know the truth and will not hesitate to reply to all the tantrums by the BJP, said the party.
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Marandi targets Soren for skipping ED summons
BJP State President and former Chief Minister Babulal Marandi has advised CM Hemant Soren to appear before the ED (Enforcement Directorate) soon. After the ED issued summons to the CM for the sixth time, on the questions of the media, he said that the CM should come forward without any delay. Give correct information while facing ED. Why is there any fear in this? Babulal Marandi also said that if the CM does not appear before the ED, then the Governor should take action now. They welcomed the Supreme Court's decision on Monday regarding Article 370 by dismissing it if necessary.
He said that that the court has played a role in realizing the dreams of 140 crore people of the country. It was passed by the Parliament under the leadership of PM Modi. Now the decision of the Supreme Court on this is historic.
