The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has turned down Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren's request for rescheduling the latest summons issued to him for questioning on November 17 in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged illegal mining in the State.
Soren had asked the ED to advance the date of appearance to November 16, which has not been agreed to by the agency, officials said.
The Jharkhand CM was initially summoned by the agency on November 3 for appearance at its regional office in Ranchi, but he did not depose citing official commitments.
He had then requested a three-week deferment of the summons. The CM was then asked to appear for questioning and recording of his statement under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The agency has arrested Soren's political aide Pankaj Mishra and two others - local muscleman Bachhu Yadav and Prem Prakash - in this case.
The agency has said it has "identified" proceeds of crime relating to illegal mining in the State to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore till now. After the first summons was issued, Soren had dared the agency to arrest him. "The ED has summoned me following a conspiracy. Come and arrest me if I have committed a crime instead of sending summonses for questioning. I am neither afraid nor worried. Rather I am emerging stronger. If people of Jharkhand wish, opponents will not find a place to hide," he had said.
The ED probe began after the agency searched Mishra and his alleged associates on July 8, covering 19 locations in Sahibganj, Barhait, Rajmahal, Mirza Chauki and Barharwa in Jharkhand in the case linked to alleged instances of illegal mining and extortion.
"The PMLA investigation revealed that Mishra, who enjoys political clout, being the representative of the chief minister, MLA from Barhait, Sahibganj, Jharkhand controls the illegal mining businesses as well as inland ferry services in Sahibganj and its adjoining areas through his accomplices.
"He exercises considerable control over the mining of stone chips and boulders as well as installation and operations of several crushers, set up across various mining sites in Sahibganj," the ED had alleged after filing a charge sheet in the case recently before a special court in Ranchi.