Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has lodged a FIR against officials of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) under the SC/ST Act. The complaint, filed by Soren, accuses the central agency’s officials of tarnishing his image and spreading false news without any prior information.
Soren’s complaint states that ED officials reached his Delhi residence without prior notice, leading to the propagation of misleading information.
Ranchi’s Senior Superintendent of Police, Chandan Sinha, confirmed the registration of the FIR, quoting Soren as saying that his reputation had been maligned by the unexpected visit and the dissemination of false news.
This development follows a recent visit by an ED team to the South Delhi residence of Chief Minister Soren in connection with an alleged money laundering investigation related to a land fraud case.
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Despite the ED’s 13-hour-long search, Soren was not present at his home during the visit.
The ED claims to have seized Rs 36 lakh in cash, a BMW SUV registered under a benami name, and relevant documents from the premises.
The agency had issued ten summons to Soren, with the latest requiring him to appear for questioning on January 29 or January 31. Soren had previously been questioned for seven hours on January 20 at his Ranchi residence.
The questioning by the ED at Soren’s residence on Wednesday follows a day of high-voltage political drama, during which the opposition BJP declared Soren as “missing” and accused him of evading the federal agency.
Reacting to the situation, JMM MP Mahua Maji accused the Central Government and BJP of conspiring to destabilize non-BJP ruled states, asserting that the party is prepared to face and tackle all such conspiracies.