Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday responded to the eighth summons issued by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), agreeing to record his statement in the land scam case.

Soren has proposed January 20 as the date for the recording of his statement at his official residence,ANI reported citing sources.

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The ED had issued the eighth summonses to Soren on Saturday, directing his coordination in the investigation between January 16 and 20. Soren, in response to the summons, has agreed to cooperate in the ongoing probe into the land scam case, as ANI reported.

Previously, the ED had summoned Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s press advisor, Abhishek Prasad, to join the investigation on January 16 related to an alleged money laundering probe linked to an illegal mining case. The ED had searched Prasad’s residence in Ranchi on January 3.

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This marks the ‘last opportunity’ from the ED to the chief minister to record his statement in the alleged land scam case, to which Soren responded by deeming the summons as ‘illegal’.

The ED in its summon stated, “Since you have not come to the office of the Directorate of Enforcement in obedience to the summonses issued to you, we are giving you this last opportunity to record your statement under section 50 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, at the place, date and time, mutually convenient to you as well as the undersigned (ED), which should be within 7 days of receipt of this notice/Summons.”

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Soren had been summoned by the ED in mid-August 2023, related to a land ‘scam’ case. Initially citing busy schedules with state Independence Day celebrations, Soren skipped subsequent summons on August 24 and September 9. Despite being issued a fourth summons for September 23, he did not appear.

In a letter to the ED, Soren stated that he had already provided all necessary documents and information. He emphasized that if the ED required any additional information, they could refer to the documents he had previously shared with the agency.