The Enforcement Directorate has issued a fresh summons to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in connection with the money laundering case, reports PTI, citing sources.
Soren has been asked to confirm his availability for questioning on either January 20 or 31.
The ED had earlier asked him to join the probe between January 27-31, but since there was no official response, the 48-year-old politician was issued fresh summons.
On January 20, the central agency had recorded the statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in the case at his official residence in Ranchi. The interrogators spend seven-and-a half hours at the residence of Soren, who is the executive president of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).
The ED officials had reached Soren’s residence at 12.30 PM and left a little before 8.30 PM.
Reportedly, since the questioning was not completed, the ED had issued fresh summons.
The money laundering case pertains to a “huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia” in Jharkhand, according to the agency.
It is linked to the ownership of a land parcel measuring 7.16 acres, in Bajra area of Ranchi, allegedly acquired through “proceeds of crime” involving illegal sale of Army land.
The ED has so far arrested 14 people in the case, including 2011-batch IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan who served as the director of the state’s Social Welfare Department and deputy commissioner of Ranchi. Ranjan is currently in judicial custody.
Soren was questioned on January 20, after he skipped ED’s summons for seven times. Earlier, while skipping the summons, Soren had said that he was had said he was being called for questioning because “he doesn’t belong to any political party in power at the Centre”.
“Issuance of repeated summons is actually malice and part of a political conspiracy to destabilise a democratically elected government,” Soren had said.