Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Tuesday left for the state's second capital Dumka to take part in the government's ongoing outreach programme, skipping the Enforcement Directorate sixth summons issued to him.
With this, speculations were rife that he may skip the summons of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). The ED has issued a fresh summons to Soren for questioning in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam, sources at probe agency said.
Soren, 48, was asked to depose before the federal agency's regional office in Hinoo area at 11 am and get his statement recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Tuesday, they said. This was the sixth ED summons issued to Soren, however, he skipped the summons. However, in the letter addressed to the ED, Soren sought to know in what capacity the ED summoned him, as an accused or to support the investigation.
Though Soren didn’t appeared before probe agency, an official from Chief Minister Office reached the ED office and submitted a letter to probe agency officials.
This was the sixth ED summons issued to Soren, but he has never deposed and instead, filed petitions before Supreme Court and later, the Jharkhand High Court seeking protection from the ED action, terming the summonses as "unwarranted".
The official also said that Jharkhand CM had a pre-scheduled programme in Dumka on Tuesday. He would participate in the ongoing 'Apki Yojana, Apki Sarkar, Apke Dwar' (your scheme, your government at your doorstep), which, commenced in the state on November.
Notably, the ED on Sunday issued a sixth summons to Soren in a case related to an alleged grab of 8.46 acres of tribal land in Ranchi. However, the ED insiders maintained that they wanted CM to explain the sources of his properties.
Soren has fought a protracted legal battle to avoid being questioned by the agency in this case, which the ED is investigating independently.
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.
