ED states grounds for Hemant Soren's arrest, says ‘illegally possessed 8.5 acres land'

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has stated grounds of JMM leader Hemant Soren's arrest in connection with a money laundering case. ED said, “The property measuring approximately 8.5 acres is proceeds of crime which has been in unauthorised and illegal possession and use of Hemant Soren.”

It stated that the grounds of his were under Section 19 of the PMLA, 2002. 

"The property measuring approximately 8.5 acres is proceeds of crime which has been in unauthorised and illegal possession and use of Hemant Soren. He has directly indulged in the process connected with acquisition, possession and the use of proceeds of crime. Hemant Soren is knowingly a party along with Bhanu Pratap Prasad and others in the activities connected with concealment of the original records for projecting the property acquired by him in an illegal manner as an untainted property..." ED said.

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Earlier on Thursday, ED also claimed that Soren was informed about his arrest at about 5 pm on 31 February but he was "reluctant" to receive the order as he first wanted to submit his resignation from the chief minister's post. 

Additionally, it claimed that the JMM commander is in “illegal possession, occupation, and use” of dozen land parcels totaling approximately 8.5 acres, and that these parcels constitute proceeds of crime as defined by the anti-money laundering law.

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The court on Thursday sent Soren to judicial custody for a day, however, the ED had sought a 10-day custody. Speaking to ANI, Advocate Manish Singh said, “Hemant Soren has been sent to judicial custody for one day. A demand for 10 days' remand was put but the order has been reserved and the next hearing will take place tomorrow (Friday, February 2)."

A week after the Bihar political drama, Jharkhand is now witnessing an upheaval following its chief minister's arrest. The ED arrested Hemant Soren after seven hours of questioning. Since then, there has been no chief minister in the state.

The federal agency's criminal case against the 48-year-old leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) is based on an ECIR (ED term for FIR) that was filed in June 2023. The raids were carried out in April against Bhanu Pratap Prasad, a revenue department sub-inspector and state government employee, at multiple locations throughout the state.

The agency, according to official records, recovered 11 trunks holding voluminous property documents from Prasad's premises along with 17 original registers.

Prasad was a custodian of many original registers of land records and their ownership details of the state, the ED claimed.

Meanwhile, Soren has moved the Supreme Court to challenge his arrest in a money laundering case, the hearing of which will be taken up today.