In a stark reminder to the then “hiding” accused Coal Minister Shibu Soren in the UPA-I Government, his son, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, was allegedly on the run evading the Enforcement Directorate. The senior Soren was on the run from the CBI and surrendered after a fortnight.
Now, the ED team reached Hemant’s New Delhi residence as they searched for the JMM leader in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.
On the other hand, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) chief Lalu Prasad appeared before the ED in Patna for questioning in connection with a probe into a land-for-jobs scam. Supporters of the RJD gathered outside the ED office to protest Lalu’s questioning.
According to ED sources, a team of the agency, accompanied by Delhi Police personnel, reached the 5/1 Shanti Niketan building in South Delhi around 9 am and stayed there until late evening, attempting to locate him, but he remained untraceable.
The ED maintained that the searches at his Delhi home were conducted based on fresh inputs related to the land scam. As per procedure, a statement is recorded during the searches. Since Soren was not present, the ED could not record his statement.
Later, a team of seven ED officials reached Jharkhand Bhawan to enquire about Soren’s whereabouts. When the staff at Jharkhand Bhawan was asked if the Chief Minister stayed there, they replied in the negative.
“We came to the residence of the Chief Minister to question him, but he is not here. The ED teams also went to Jharkhand Bhawan and a few other locations but could not find the Chief Minister,” a source said.
The ED teams will remain at the residence until Soren returns, the sources added, noting that authorities are also keeping vigilance at the Delhi airport.
Amid reports of going incognito, Soren, who left for Delhi from Ranchi on January 27 night, has sent an email to the ED agreeing to a fresh round of questioning by the agency’s investigators on January 31 at his Ranchi residence around 1 pm.
The ED had previously questioned Soren at his official residence in Ranchi on January 20 in the alleged land fraud case and issued a fresh summons, asking him to confirm his availability for questioning on either January 29 or January 31, according to the sources. Soren had communicated with the Enforcement Directorate (ED) but had not confirmed the date and time for questioning.
While the Chief Minister’s office remained tight-lipped on the development, Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan said that he was keeping a watch on the situation in the State in light of the ED summons to the CM. “I am monitoring the overall situation as the custodian of the Constitution. It is the duty of the Governor, and I am fulfilling it. We will cross the bridge when it comes,” he told reporters when asked about the options before the Raj Bhavan in the wake of the political situation in the State.
Soren, who has skipped the ED summons nine times, made an impromptu trip to Delhi on Saturday night, cancelling the scheduled government events for Monday without any explanation, triggering speculations. This further fueled speculation as he cancelled his scheduled events, including a programme in Chaibasa on January 29, in Palamu on January 30, and in Giridih on January 31. His trip to Delhi occurred against the backdrop of the ED asking him whether he would be available for questioning on either January 29 or January 31.
A top Jharkhand Government official said, “It is an unprecedented situation here. No one knows the whereabouts of the chief minister.”
In Ranchi, security was heightened at the CM House, Raj Bhavan, and Central government offices on Monday as visuals from Soren’s south Delhi residence flashed throughout the day. In a related development in Ranchi, JMM workers organised a massive rally on Monday, accusing the ED of targeting Soren. Carrying party flags, banners, and photographs of Soren, they gathered at Morabadi ground, from where they marched towards the CM House, the official residence of the Chief Minister.
Raising slogans such as “Hemant Soren Mat Ghabrana, Hum Tumhare Saath Hain” (Hemant Soren, don’t worry, we are with you), the rally passed near the CM House and Raj Bhavan before returning to Morabadi ground. JMM supporters participating in the rally came from various districts, including Khunti, Ranchi, Garhwa, Ramgarh, and Gumla.
Regarding the possibility of the imposition of President’s Rule in the State, the Governor said it was currently just “guesswork,” adding that political parties should not get involved in it.
Addressing Soren’s skipping of ED summons in connection with a money laundering probe, he said, “I will tell you one thing—nobody is above the law. If the CM is not responding today, he has to respond tomorrow.”
So far, the ED has arrested 14 people in the case, including the 2011-batch IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan, who served as the director of the state’s Social Welfare Department and deputy commissioner of Ranchi.
