ED summons Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren for questioning in money-laundering case

NEW DELHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a fresh summons to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for questioning in a money-laundering case linked to an alleged land scam on Tuesday, official sources said. Soren has been asked to depose at the federal agency's office here and get his statement recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the sources said on Monday. The summons for the chief minister is for December 12, they added.

The Enforcement Directorate has summoned Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in connection with the alleged land scam case. ED has asked CM Soren to appear under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) in connection with the case.

The BJP has criticised the Jharkhand CM for continuously skipping the summons. BJP leader Pratul Shah Deo said, "Hemant Soren is not behaving like an elected CM, he's behaving more like a monarch and this is what was expected of the 'Vanshavadi Rajkumars'. They have scant respect for the law of the land and he has evaded the sixth summon and this is very shocking. We'd urge the ED to take the toughest action against the CM and set an example because he can't be higher than the law of the land...He is neck-deep in corruption as we have been alleging there have been corruption scandals worth Rs 70,000 crores during his 10 years..."

Earlier, CM Hemant Soren filed a writ petition in the Jharkhand High Court challenging the summons issued against him in a money laundering case by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Soren moved the state High Court after his petition to the Supreme Court was rejected and he was directed by the apex court on Monday to approach the concerned High Court with his plea against the Enforcement Directorate (ED) summons.

Hemant Soren had filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the summons issued against him and said that the case against him is a clear case of abuse of law by the Central Government and misuse of the Central agencies to destabilize the democratically elected Government of the State of Jharkhand of which he is the Chief Minister.

Soren was summoned by the ED in mid-August in connection with a land 'scam' case. However, the CM ignored the summons claiming that he was busy with the state's Independence Day celebrations. He was asked again to appear on August 24 and September 9 but he skipped the summonses citing preoccupations. The agency then issued its fourth summons to the Jharkhand CM, asking him to report to the agency on September 23.

The CM had earlier threatened to move for legal proceedings against the Centre if it did not withdraw the summonses issued against him. In his letter to the agency, Soren said he had provided all necessary documents and information to the ED. He wrote that if the ED needed any information, it could refer to the documents that he had already shared with the agency. However, he alleged that the ED summoned him on August 14, at the behest of its "political masters".