SUMAN K SHRIVASTAVA
Ranchi, January 20: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) today interrogated Chief Minister Hemant Soren for around seven hours amidst action-packed drama by the JMM cadres on the roads.
Amidst tight security, the ED sleuths, armed with various land documents began questioning Soren in the Ranchi land scam at around 2 pm which continued till around 8.45 pm.
Reason for interrogation
The ED is carrying out an investigation in ECIR bearing no. RNZO/25/2023 in the matter of Ranchi district Revenue Sub-Inspector Bhanu Pratap Prasad.
In its seventh summons/letter, the ED specified that it wants to record the CM’s response to the documents seized from Ranchi district Revenue Sub-Inspector Bhanu Pratap Prasad and his properties. The agency has lodged a case in this regard for tampering and falsification of government records.
Certain documents are allegedly linked with the CM related to the alleged grab of a costly parcel of tribal land in Ranchi.
Soren ignored 7 summons
Notably, Soren locked horns with the ED and ignored all previous seven summons and accused the agency of haunting him due to political reasons.
The ED issued summons to CM first on August 14 last year, then on August 24, September 9, September 23, October 4 and October 12, necessitating his presence before the ED to record his statement so that the ED could obtain details regarding the properties under his possession.
However, the ED, in its eighth summons, categorically told him to be available for questioning between January 16 and January 20 else the agency would be forced to take strong legal actions against him.
Thereafter, Soren, responding to the eighth summons, asked the ED sleuths to record his statement at the chief minister’s residence on January 20.
CM’s query after summons
Soren had asked the agency to let him know in what capacity he was summoned. He had also said that he had already submitted details of his properties to the ED. He said the agency has not specified in what capacity Soren was being summoned.
Raids on April 11 2023
The ED began its probe with the illegal transfer of 4.55 acres of Army land in Ranchi.
But the situation changed after it interrogated the land brokers and a revenue official post raids on 21 locations linked to ex-Ranchi DC Chhavi Ranjan on April 11.
Again on April 24, the ED raided the official residence of Uday Shankar, a government employee presently attached with the chief minister’s office. The recovery of data from his mobile and several incriminating land documents added to the scam proportion.
The interrogation of Additional Registrar Trideep Mishra in the Kolkata registry office, where the land papers were tampered, on May 2 last year threw more light on the scam.
Kulkarni was whistleblower
The role of the then Ranchi DC Chhavi Ranjan in transferring prime lands had come to the fore in a report submitted by the then Divisional Commissioner NM Kulkarni to the state government.
Kulkarni exposed the fraudulent purchase of land in Ranchi and played a whistleblower against the illegal acts of Chhavi Ranjan taken under pressure of power broker Prem Prakash and businessman Amit Agrawal.
