New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had claimed that former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren had illegally acquired 8.86 acres of land worth more than Rs 31 crore. As proof of this, ED has presented the bill for a fridge and smart TV. The ED obtained these receipts from two Ranchi-based dealers and included them in its charge sheet filed against the JMM leader and four others last month. The special PMLA court of Justice Rajeev Ranjan in Ranchi took cognizance of the charge sheet on April 4. Let us tell you that soon after Soren resigned from the post of Chief Minister, on January 31, he was arrested by the ED in a money laundering case related to alleged land grab. He is currently in judicial custody in Birsa Munda Jail, Hotwar, Ranchi.
Santosh used to take care of Hemant’s property
According to ED, both the devices were purchased in the name of Santosh Munda’s family members. Santosh Munda had told ED that he was living on the said land (8.86 acres) for 14-15 years and used to look after this property for Hemant Soren. The agency used Munda’s statement to refute Soren’s claim that he (Soren) has no connection with the said land. The ED also rejected the claim of a man named Rajkumar Pahan on the land and alleged to be an associate of Soren, who tried to show that the property was under his control. The ED claimed that soon after the first summons was issued to Soren in the case in August last year, Pahan had written a letter to the Deputy Commissioner of Ranchi saying that the land was in his possession and some others and the earlier summons were issued in the name of other owners. The deed should be canceled and they should be protected from being evicted from their property.
land cannot be sold
The ED alleged that the state government “returned” the land to Pahan on January 29, two days before Soren’s arrest, so that the JMM leader’s control and possession remained “unhindered”. According to the ED, land is basically ‘Bhuinhari’ property, which cannot be transferred or sold to anyone under normal circumstances. The ED said that a refrigerator was purchased in the name of Munda’s son in February 2017, while a smart TV was purchased in the name of his daughter in November 2022 and it was purchased at the same land address. The ED said it “proves” that Santosh Munda and his family were living at the property and it was not in the possession of accused Rajkumar Pahan. The agency claimed that Rajkumar Pahan was working as an associate of former Chief Minister Hemant Soren to somehow make the property appear to be in the possession of Pahan and his family members and to sabotage the evidence against Soren and the crime. Income can be hidden. The ED has named Soren, Rajkumar Pahan, Hilarias Kachhap, Bhanu Pratap Prasad and Binod Singh as accused in the 191-page charge sheet. (input language)
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