The 72-hour-long drama between Jharkhand and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) came to an end late on Wednesday evening with the arrest of the "absconding" JMM leader Hemant Soren. Sources claimed JMM leader was “evasive” in his replies during his questioning and hence was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The sources said the agency put across 15 questions to Hemant during the second round of questioning in the case.
He had to resign as Chief Minister, followed by the probable appointment of the seniormost MLA and State Transport Minister, Champai Soren, to step into his shoes and take up the reins of the JMM-Congress, RJD coalition government.
As of the filing of reports, JMM spokesperson Mahua Majhi said that Soren had been taken into custody by the ED. Cabinet Minister Banna Gupta shared with the media that Champai would take over as the new Chief Minister of Jharkhand. Speculation is rife that someone from Hemant's family, including wife Kalpana (who is not an MLA), could be named to lead the State.
Hemant Soren is the first sitting Chief Minister to be arrested in a corruption case. Along with ED officials, Hemant went to Raj Bhawan to meet Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan and submitted his resignation from the post of chief minister. Sources suggest that Hemant wanted to be arrested in his home State to garner sympathy from the people during the Lok Sabha elections.
A delegation of the JMM-led coalition also met the Governor and submitted a list of support from 47 MLAs, claiming their backing to form the government. Later, Champai Soren said he has staked a claim to form a new government and have the support of 47 MLAs.
Champai has been a legislator from the Serikela Assembly constituency for more than three decades since 1991 and is known to be a loyalist of JMM supremo Shibu Soren. Earlier, legislators gathered at Hemant Soren's residence elected Champai as the leader of the JMM legislative party, with the party spokesperson Vinod Pandey saying that a consensus was reached on his name.
Amid hectic political activities, JMM coalition MLAs gathered at the Chief Minister's residence earlier in the day to express their solidarity with their leader. They also signed a letter of support without any name, as speculation is rife that Hemant's wife will be handed over the reins.
Soren's wife, Kalpana Soren, who is not an MLA, was also present at the meeting. By-elections cannot be held in the last year of any Assembly's term, so Kalpana Soren could not have been elected an MLA even if she was named the Chief Minister.
Reports were also circulating that Soren's family, including his sister-in-law and JMM MLA Sita Soren (widow of Durga Soren), and Basant Soren, openly oppose any move to make his wife Kalpana the chief minister. Sita Soren represents the Jama constituency in the Assembly and told the media that she would like to ask why only Kalpana Soren, who is not even an MLA and has no political experience.
Insiders say that when a consensus could not be reached on Kalpana Soren as the next chief minister, the party decided to elect Champai Soren as the new chief minister. Party spokesperson Vinod Pandey said that a general consensus was reached on Champai Soren.
ED sources reported that the officers of the ED reached the CM's residence in Ranchi around 1:20 pm to record his statement. The agency was not satisfied with the answers provided by the chief minister. Soren had skipped the 10th summons before his arrest in connection with an investigation into a "huge racket of illegal change of land ownership by the mafia" in Jharkhand.
Simultaneously, Soren also lodged an FIR against ED personnel over searches conducted by the agency at his Delhi residence on Monday, officials said. Soren alleged that the ED conducted the search to "harass and malign him and his entire community," the officials said, quoting the FIR.
Ahead of the scheduled questioning, the ED wrote to the Jharkhand government, seeking extra security. Prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC, which were earlier effective from 9 am to 10 pm on Wednesday, have now been extended until further notice within a radius of 100 metres at key locations, including the CM House, Raj Bhavan, and the ED office at Doranda. As part of the restrictions, demonstrations, rallies, and meetings cannot be held in and around these areas. The three-member special team was led by finance secretary Prashant Kumar and included mines director Arva Rajkamal and special branch IG Prabhat Kumar.
ED officials had reached the CM's residence in Ranchi around 1:20 pm to record his statement. Meanwhile, eyewitnesses said three tourist buses entered Soren's house on Kanke Road around 5:30 pm amid hectic activities. Soon after that, Chief Secretary L Khiangte and DGP Ajay Kumar Singh met Soren's wife, Kalpana Soren. Earlier in the day, Soren lodged an FIR against senior ED personnel at the SC/ST police station here over searches conducted by the agency at his Delhi residence, officials said.
The ED has, so far, 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. Earlier, the ED had recorded his statement on January 20 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Hemant was taken into custody in connection with an alleged land scam, minutes after meeting the governor and handing in his resignation. Sources said he had discussed the matter with the officials, declaring that he would sign the arrest memo only after stepping down. The ED officials then took him to meet the Governor. A Chief Minister can be arrested under the anti-money laundering rules if he evades summons thrice.
Soren, after evading the Enforcement Directorate over the weekend, had agreed to be questioned by the Central agency this afternoon. His statement was recorded during the questioning. Soren, who had evaded seven summons for questioning in an alleged money laundering case linked to the Rs 600 crore land scam, was anticipating arrest for a while.
