The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a summons to Congress’ Jharkhand Rajya Sabha MP Dhiraj Prasad Sahu for questioning in a money laundering case, in which the central agency recently arrested former Chief Minister Hemant Soren, official sources told PTI on Thursday.
Sahu, aged 64, came into the spotlight in December when the Income Tax department recovered a record-breaking Rs 351.8 crore in cash during raids against Boudh Distillery Pvt. Ltd. (BDPL), an Odisha-based company promoted by the family of the Congress legislator.
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Scheduled to appear on February 10 at the ED office in Ranchi, the agency aims to interrogate and record Sahu’s statement regarding his alleged connections with Soren and a BMW SUV confiscated by the agency from the residence of the JMM leader in Delhi during the last month’s searches.
ED found the vehicle’s keys in Soren’s government-leased residence, raising suspicions of its potential connection to Sahu in a purported “benami” manner.
On Wednesday, the probe agency conducted raids at a location in Kadarpur village in Gurugram (Haryana), where the SUV is said to have been registered, based on the Haryana number plate. Additionally, two locations in Kolkata were searched as part of the same case.
The ED has also summoned other individuals linked to the case for questioning with Soren and another accused, Bhanu Pratap Prasad, a former revenue department sub-inspector of the Jharkhand government.
Hemant Soren, presently in ED custody, was arrested on January 31 on money laundering charges linked to an alleged illegal land acquisition and possession case. Later Champai Soren resumed the Jharkhand government after taking oath as CM of state on February 2.
(With PTI inputs)