New Delhi: In the crosshairs of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for his alleged involvement in two money laundering cases, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren sought to turn the tables on the central agency Wednesday by filing a case against its officers for “harassing him”.
Soren lodged a first information report (FIR) against ED sleuths under the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act at a police station in Ranchi. Soren belongs to the Scheduled Tribes (ST) community.
The FIR pertained to the 29 January raid at his Delhi residence during which the central agency seized Rs 36 lakh in cash and a BMW X7, which cost over Rs 1 crore.
The officers had gone to his house to question him, but could not find the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader.
The BJP claimed Tuesday that Soren, whose party is a constituent of the opposition INDIA bloc, had gone “missing”. Leader of the Opposition Babulal Marandi even announced a reward of Rs 11,000 for information on his whereabouts.
Soren surfaced in Ranchi in the evening and held a meeting with his party MLAs.
The chief minister, who was questioned by the ED in Ranchi Wednesday, said the Delhi raid was a means to harass and malign him and his entire community.
The ED has said the case is about a “huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia”.
The agency has made several arrests in connection with the case, among whom is Chhavi Ranjan, a 2011-batch IAS officer. Ranjan was previously director of the state’s social welfare department and was also deputy commissioner of Ranchi.
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