New Delhi: Days after his arrest, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was sent to five-day Enforcement Directorate (ED) custody by a PMLA court.
Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) chief Soren was arrested on Wednesday night by the ED in a money laundering case linked to a land scam soon after the leader demitted the office of chief minister of the state.
Earlier today, the Supreme Court declined to entertain his petition challenging his arrest by the ED. Instead, he was asked to approach the Jharkhand High Court.
The ED claims it has evidence of Soren being the key beneficiary in alleged land-related irregularities in Ranchi, where a network of brokers and businessmen were allegedly working over the years to create fake deeds of landed parcels by forging records in the registrar offices and further selling them off.
Hemant Soren has denied the charges against him, saying that the ED is accusing him of something that is not related to him.
Notably, the investigation agency, since 2022, has been probing a trail of Rs 100 crore of "proceeds of crime" generated from illegal mining operations in the state.The money laundering probe began after the ED raided Soren's political aide Pankaj Mishra and his alleged associates in July, 2022.
Meanwhile, JMM leader Champai Soren was elected as the leader of the legislature party. He was invited by Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan on Thursday night to form a government. Champai Soren took oath as chief minister earlier today at 12.15 pm.
