Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren shows a thumbs up as he reaches Raj Bhavan to submit his resignation to State Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan, in Ranchi on January 31.
| Photo Credit: ANI
The Supreme Court of January 1 agreed to hear Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s plea on February 2 challenging his arrest in the money laundering case.
Mr. Soren on February 1 moved the Supreme Court challenging his arrest.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Mr. Soren, told the top court that the JMM leader will withdraw his plea against arrest from the Jharkhand HC.
The Enforcement Directorate on January 31 arrested Hemant Soren in a land scam case soon after he resigned as Jharkhand Chief Minister. The resignation came after the ED officials questioned him for more than seven hours at his official residence in Ranchi.
Senior Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader and Transport Minister Champai Soren was elected leader of the Legislature Party soon after Mr. Hemant Soren’s resignation.
Mr. Hemant Soren on January 31 lodged an FIR against the ED officials at the SC/ST police station in Ranchi. In the FIR, the JMM leader described himself as a member of the Scheduled Tribe, stressing that the search on his New Delhi premises was to harass and malign his name and his entire community.
A team of ED officials visited Mr. Hemant Soren’s Delhi residence at Shanti Niketan on January 29 for questioning. However, he was not found at his residence and remained traceless for 32 hours before he was spotted in Ranchi on January 30.
On January 20, the ED grilled him for over eight hours at his official residence and recorded his statement, after he skipped eight summons by the agency.
The case pertains to alleged purchase and sale of tribal land by forging documents between 2020 and 2022.
(With inputs from PTI)
