3 min readNew Delhi, RanchiJan 30, 2024 09:52 AM IST
First published on: Jan 29, 2024 at 10:16 PM IST
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Monday questioned former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad in Patna and former Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda in New Delhi in separate cases. A team of the central agency also visited the house of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in Delhi but the latter was not present there.
The ED questioned Lalu for over nine hours in connection with the agency’s money laundering probe into the alleged land-for-jobs scam, officials said.
Prasad, accompanied by his daughter Misa Bharti, arrived at the ED office in Patna around 11 am and left at 8.50 pm, sources said.
The investigating officer of the case recorded Lalu’s statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said.
A team of ED officials from Delhi reached Patna on Sunday to question the RJD leader in connection with the alleged scam, the sources said. The central agency had on January 19 issued fresh summons for questioning Lalu and his son Tejashwi Yadav.
The notice was handed over by the ED at Lalu’s wife and former Bihar CM Rabri Devi’s residence. Both were asked to appear before the ED officials on January 29 and 30, respectively.
Senior Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda was questioned for around seven hours by the ED in connection with a money laundering investigation in connection with the alleged irregularities in land acquisition at Manesar during 2004-07. Several farmers and landowners had alleged that they had been cheated to the tune of about Rs 1,500 crore in this land acquisition case.
Hooda was first summoned on January 17 and his statement was recorded under the provisions of the PMLA.
Meanwhile, a team of ED visited the South Delhi residence of Soren to question him in connection with a money laundering investigation in an alleged land fraud case. But he was not present at his home. The ED teams will be at the residence till Soren returns, sources said, adding that authorities are also keeping a vigil at the Delhi airport.
The ED had issued a fresh summons to Soren asking him to confirm his availability for questioning on either January 29 or January 31, the sources said. Soren had sent a communication to them but had not confirmed the date and time for questioning, according to the sources.
JMM’s general secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya said: “ED’s spontaneous arrival at the official residence of the CM…with hundreds of armed soldiers does not appear to be legal. What was the hurry that ED officials could not wait even for two days for the interrogation and that too when seven hours of interrogation had already taken place a week ago?”
JMM added that it was an insult to the honour and respect of a CM as well as to the 3.5 crore people of the state.
BJP state chief Babulal Marandi said Soren went underground due to fear of the ED.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad arrives at the ED office in Patna. (PTI) 
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