Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren News Live: Hemant Soren tendered his resignation to Governor CP Radhakrishnan at the Raj Bhavan. (X/Raj Bhawan)Former Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who was arrested on Wednesday late at night in a land scam case, has been sent to judicial custody until the next hearing on tomorrow. During today’s appearance in court, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) asked for 10 days of custody. Hearing both sides, the PMLA court posted the matter to February 2 (Friday) for further hearing and order.
Meanwhile, Jharkhand Governor C P Radhakrishnan has given time to meet the MLAs at 5.30 pm today. After Hemant Soren’s resignation and subsequent arrest Wednesday, the new JMM legislature party leader, Champai Soren, had staked claim to form the government, but the Governor had sought time. Soren was arrested after more than seven hours of questioning by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case linked to a land scam. Earlier, he tendered his resignation to Radhakrishnan at the Raj Bhavan, where he went along with alliance legislators. The Supreme Court is set to hear a plea against the arrest by the ED tomorrow.
What is the ED case? The development caps days of drama between Soren and the investigative agency – from the ED searching his Delhi residence to his party lashing out for “maligning” his image. The investigation pertains to a “huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia” in Jharkhand, according to the agency. Earlier, the ED had recorded the statement of Soren on January 20 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). 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.
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