Release of Hemant Soren will strengthen INDIA bloc: CPI General Secretary D Raja

NEW DELHI: CPI General Secretary D Raja welcomed the decision to grant bail to former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in the alleged land scam case and said that his release would strengthen the INDIA bloc. D Raja said, "It is a welcome development. We did not agree when he was taken under arrest. The central government has been using central agencies to target the opposition parties, intimidate them and cripple their activities. Justice will prevail, and truth will prevail. He is one of the important leaders of INDIA bloc. His release will strengthen the INDIA bloc so that the undemocratic right-wing forces are defeated and the rights of people are safeguarded."

JMM MP Mahua Maji said that after 2014, there was a BJP government in the state and Hemant Soren conducted several rallies. People supported him and he formed the government. Mahua Maji said, "Hemant Soren is a very popular leader in Jharkhand. Despite his absence in the Lok Sabha elections, the public supported us. There is a lot of enthusiasm following his release from jail. BJP's conspiracy to garner votes by arresting popular leader Hemant Soren failed. Ayodhya has shown that religion-based vote bank politics cannot work. During tenure of Hemant Soren lot of schemes were launched like Guruji credit card, Savitribai Phule Kishori Samridhi Yojana."

Earlier, the Jharkhand High Court granted bail to former Jharkhand Chief Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Chief, Hemant Soren, in the alleged land scam case on Friday. Hemant Soren was released from the Birsa Munda Jail following a bail order from the Jharkhand High Court.

Soren was arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in January on charges related to an alleged land scam and money laundering. The investigation concerns the purported generation of substantial proceeds through the forgery of official records, involving fake sellers and buyers to acquire large parcels of land worth crores. In related events, on March 22, a Special PMLA court extended Soren's judicial custody until April 4. Soren was presented via video conferencing. The Ranchi police had also issued a notice to ED officials to join the investigation following an FIR filed by Soren under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.

The Jharkhand High Court had previously ordered no coercive action against ED officials after the agency filed a petition challenging Soren's FIR. Soren had alleged that the ED's searches at his residences were aimed at tarnishing his image and harassing him for being a tribal. The ED had claimed to have recovered Rs 36 lakh in cash and documents related to the investigation, alleging that Soren had acquired 8.5 acres of land through fraudulent means. The investigation revealed that a syndicate, including Revenue Sub-Inspector Bhanu Pratap Prasad, was involved in corrupt property acquisitions.