Hemant Soren sent to one-day judicial custody, process to form new Jharkhand govt to 'begin soon': 10 points

Former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren was sent to judicial custody for a day on Thursday in connection with a money laundering case. Earlier in the day, he was produced before a court in Ranchi. 

Soren was taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. 

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).”

No CM in Jharkhand

A week after the Bihar political drama, Jharkhand politics seem to be 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.

Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan had invited the JMM-led alliance at 5.30 pm on Thursday for a meeting. JMM leader Champai Soren said there is "confusion" in the state, news agency PTI reported.

After meeting Governor CP Radhakrishnan, Leader of JMM Legislative Party Champai Soren, said, "We have demanded that the process to start the formation of the government should begin. He (Governor) said that the process will begin soon..."

Meanwhile, JMM spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said the details about the oath-taking ceremony will be revealed tomorrow.

Here's a look at how things unfolded in Jharkhand with Hemant Soren's arrest:

1. Hemant Soren was grilled for seven hours by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case. He was then taken to the ED office where he got a medical check-up done, officials said.

Sources told PTI that 48-year-old Hemant Soren was "evasive" in his replies during ED questioning and hence was taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). They added that the agency put across 15 questions to Soren during the second round of questioning in the case.

Soren tendered his resignation to Governor CP Radhakrishnan at the Raj Bhavan. He was later taken into custody. Soren was first quizzed on January 20. In 2013, he took charge of the state as its youngest chief minister, with the support of the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).

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2. As Hemant Soren resigned as the chief minister of Jharkhand, the ruling JMM-Congress-RJD alliance proposed the name of senior JMM leader Champai Soren as the new chief minister. Champai Soren, the state transport minister and a seven-time MLA, represents the Seraikella constituency in Jharkhand.

"Hemant Soren has resigned from the post of CM...We have the support of 47 MLAs...We have proposed to form a new government. Champai Soren will be our new CM...We have not been given time for swearing in...," said Jharkhand Minister Alamgir Alam.

Later on Thursday, the JMM-led alliance released a video showing support of 43 MLAs in Jharkhand amid the political crisis.

3. Champai Soren said the JMM and its coalition partners staked claim to form the new government in Jharkhand. He said, “We will continue to work to safeguard the pride of Jharkhand. We have staked claim to form the government in the state.”

4. Amid this, Hemant Soren moved the Supreme Court, challenging his arrest. The Supreme Court agreed to hear on Friday the plea of Soren. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Hemant Soren, told the Supreme Court that the JMM leader will withdraw his plea against arrest from the Jharkhand High Court.

5. Earlier, Soren had lodged an FIR against ED personnel over searches conducted by the agency at his Delhi residence on Monday, officials said. He had alleged that the Enforcement Directorate tried to tarnish his image by conducting raids at his Delhi residence.

He released a video message, claiming that he was not linked to the money laundering case in which he was arrested.

"Most probably the ED will arrest me today, but I am not worried as I am Shibu Soren's son...After a full day of questioning, they decided to arrest me in a planned manner on matters that were not related to me," Soren said in the video message recorded just before his arrest.

6. Despite claiming to form the government in Jharkhand, Champai Soren said he was waiting for an invite from the Raj Bhavan to form the government as he has the support of 47 MLAs in the 81-member assembly.

"We are waiting for 15-16 hours whereas oaths are administered within two hours of stake claim and invite in other states," Champai Soren told PTI, while referring to Bihar's recent political upheaval.

ALSO READ: 'Jharkhand MLAs will fly to Hyderabad if…': Congress heralds new twist to political row

7. A top official told PTI on condition of anonymity, "It (state without CM) is a constitutional crisis...it is unnatural." However, when asked whether it is a constitutional crisis, Principal Secretary to the Governor Nitin Madan Kulkarni replied: "What crisis is there?".

8. Members of the Opposition's INDIA bloc hit out at Hemant Soren's arrest, alleging that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was using agencies to destabilise governments. Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav said the "anti-tribal face of the BJP" is coming to the fore in Jharkhand.

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also posted, "To make false allegations against the opposition to hide his crime is the way of 'Ahankaracharya'! The Modi government, which has put opposition leaders in jail by misusing ED, CBI and IT, is now hatching another conspiracy."

9. Meanwhile, BJP MP Harnath Singh Yadav called the action of the Enforcement Directorate on Hemant Soren "right" and said the next number is Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. "If we think deeply about the roots of corruption that have become strong in India, then it is politics. The ED (Enforcement Directorate) action on Hemant Soren is absolutely right. Next is Kejriwal's number," Harnath Singh Yadav told ANI on Thursday.

10. The ED has so far arrested 14 people in the land scam 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.

The ED is probing the "huge amounts of proceeds of crime generated by manipulation of official records by showing dummy sellers and purchasers in the guise of forged/ bogus documents to acquire huge parcels of land having value in crores''.