Ranchi CBI sleuths on Monday morning arrested one BN Majhi, the father of daughter-in-law of former Jharkhand CM Shibu Soren, in connection with the horse-trading in the Rajya Sabha elections in Jharkhand in 2012.
later in the afternoon the local Chief Judicial Court allowed the CBI to take Majhi on a three-day transit remand. Sources said the Economic Offences Wing (EOW) of the CBI's Ranchi Division arrested Majhi from the Kedargouri area in lewis Road here.
Confirming the arrest of Majhi, the CBI headquarters in New Delhi said the accused was later produced in the Special CBI Court, which allowed the Central investigating wing to take him on a transit remand.
BN Majhi, father of JMM legislator Sita Soren and relative of JMM supremo Shibu Soren, is one the prime accused in the alleged horse-trading case in the 2012 RS poll. The case was lodged by the CBI following the rescinding of the March 30, 2012 Rajya Sabha polls.
The poll had been countermanded by the Election Commission following the recovery of Rs2.15 crore from a vehicle at Namkum on March 30, 2012 a few hours ahead of the polls. The police alleged that the vehicle belonged to kin of Agrawal. Agrawal, an industrialist, was in the fray as an independent in the countermanded RS polls. The polls were held afresh on May 3 that year.
Jharkhand High Court on January 24, 2014 had revoked the stay order it had earlier given after she filed a petitioned against a lower court's order issued against her last year to arrest Soren and attach her property. Sita had surrendered before the court and is presently on bail, his father was evading arrest since long following an arrest warrant by the CBI. Right from 2013 after court issued arrest warrant against Majhi as he remained an absconded. later on his property was attached and court declared permanent arrest warrant against him.