THE JHARKHAND STORY NETWORK
Ranchi, April 4: Former Media Advisor Abhishek Prasad alias Pintu, his secretary, and key revenue officials have told the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that 8.86 acres of land in Bariatu is linked to former Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
The ED made these revelations in the Prosecution Complaint (PC) (equivalent to a chargesheet), which it filed on March 30 against Hemant Soren, his friend Vinod Singh, Bhanu Pratap Prasad, Raj Kumar Pahan and Hilarious Kacchap.
PMLA court takes cognizance, issues summons
The Ranchi PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) special court took cognizance of the chargesheet today and issued summons against architect Vinod Singh, Rajkumar Pahan, and Hilarious Kachhap. The other two accused, Hemant Soren and Revenue Sub-Inspector Bhanu Pratap Prasad, are already in judicial custody.
Chain of statements to link land to Hemant
“The statements starting from Bhanu Pratap Prasad, followed by the statements of Baijnath Munda, Shyamlal Pahan, Manoj Kumar, Santosh Munda, Uday Shankar, Shashinder Mahto, and lastly the statement of Abhishek Prasad @ Pintu establish a chain, linking the said 8.86-acre property with Hemant Soren,” the ED said in its chargesheet.
What did Abhishek Prasad alias @ Pintu say?
“Pintu admitted that he knows Uday Shankar, an official posted at CMO, and further stated that he used to instruct him on several projects. On a specific question regarding his instructions to Uday Shankar, he stated that he remembers having instructed him to get information and verification of the said 8.86-acre property at Bargain on Hemant Soren’s instructions. He further stated that he had given Uday Shankar two more properties for verification over WhatsApp, which belonged to Hemant Soren and his family.”
What did Uday Shankar say?
“He knew that the land measuring 8.86 acres situated at Bariatu, Ranchi, was possessed by the then CM Hemant Soren. He further stated that he instructed Circle Officer Manoj Kumar to verify the said land on the directions of Abhishek Prasad @ Pintu, the Press Advisor to the C.M.”
What did ex-DC Chhavi Ranjan say?
“He stated that as a Deputy Commissioner, he had instructed the Circle Officer to verify several landed properties. He further stated that the request for verification of the said property could have come, but since it had been more than three years, he could not confirm it. However, in his statement, he confirmed to have received several requests from Uday
Shankar, posted at C.M.O and did not deny the possibility of having received the instructions for verification of land through Uday Shankar.”
What did Bhanu Pratap Prasad say?
“He received verbal directions from Circle Officer Manoj Kumar to provide a verification report containing a detailed description of one property having an area of 8.86 acres, bounded by stone walls, situated behind DAV School, Bariatu, Ranchi. He further stated that the property belongs to Hemant Soren, whom they refer to as ‘Boss’. Accordingly, he verified the property with one Ameen, namely Shashinder Mahto, who noted the observations and forwarded them to the Circle Officer.
Shashinder Mahto also admitted that during the verification of the property with Bhanu Pratap Prasad, he learned that the land belonged to Hemant Soren.
What did Circle Officer Manoj Kumar say?
“He stated he had knowledge that the property, measuring 8.86 acres approx., belonged to the then CM Hemant Soren, and he had received directions from the CM Office from one Uday Shankar, PPS, to Abhishek Prasad @ Pintu, to get the property verified. Accordingly, he instructed Bhanu Pratap Prasad to inspect the property and furnish a report.
Further, he also stated that the Hilariyas Kachhap looks after the said land measuring 8.86 acres on behalf of Hemant Soren.
Hemant Soren denies the 8.86 acres of land belonged to him
“He did not furnish the details of the said property admeasuring 8.86
acres. On being asked about the said property, he gave a false statement by stating that he did not know about it, or its owner and further distanced himself from the said 8.86-acre property.”
The ED, however, has said Hemant Soren has admitted that he owns the BMW car, having registration no. HR26EM2836. “Further, enquiry concerning the purchase of this BMW car has also revealed that Hemant Soren himself went to a showroom, namely Bird Automotive, to select the said BMW Car and this car was purchased in the name of M/s Bhagwandas Holdings Pvt. Ltd. In addition, the staff car driver working at Jharkhand Bhawan, New Delhi, stated that the BMW car-HR26EM2836 is the personal car of Hemant Soren,” the ED added.