Money Laundering Case: Ranchi Court Extends Ex-CM Hemant Soren’s Judicial Custody till Apr 4

A Special PMLA court in Ranchi has extended the judicial custody of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren till April 4 in connection with a money laundering case related to an alleged land scam.
Soren, who was in judicial custody until March 21, appeared before the court via video conferencing.

Ranchi police issued a notice to ED officials last week, asking them to join the investigation in the third week of March regarding the FIR lodged by former Chief Minister Hemant Soren under the Schedule Caste and Schedule Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Confirming the development, the SSP Ranchi said, “A notice has been sent. The investigating officer (IO) would be able to give more details. Currently, he is out of station for some cases.”

The ED had filed a petition against the FIR in the Jharkhand High Court, which ordered no coercive action against the ED officials. Soren, in his FIR, alleged that the ED conducted searches at his residence at Shantiniketan, Delhi, and Jharkhand Bhawan on January 29 to tarnish his image. He also accused the ED officials of harassing him for being a tribal and bringing disrepute to him. On his complaint, the Jharkhand Police, on January 31, registered an FIR under Section 3(1) (P) (R)(S) (U) of ST-SC (PA) Act.

On February 29, the Jharkhand High Court dismissed the petition of former Chief Minister Hemant Soren seeking permission to attend the budget session of the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly.

Soren approached the High Court after the Special PMLA court in Ranchi dismissed his petition on February 22. Soren was arrested on January 31 in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). He tendered his resignation as CM to the Jharkhand Governor following his questioning by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the alleged land scam case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act. Earlier, the ED claimed it had recovered cash over Rs 36 lakh from the possession of the JMM chief, along with documents linked to the investigation into the alleged acquisition of land by ‘fraudulent means’.

The agency added that land parcels spanning 8.5 acres were part of the criminal proceeds that the former CM allegedly acquired. The ED claimed further that in a raid conducted on April 13, 2023, they unearthed several property-related records and registers that were in the possession of Revenue Sub-Inspector Bhanu Pratap Prasad. It was further informed that the probe further revealed that Bhanu Pratap Prasad and others were part of a “very large syndicate involved in corrupt practices of acquiring properties forcefully as well as on the basis of false deeds.” “Considering the facts and circumstances and taking into consideration the activities and processes of money laundering in which Soren is directly involved and is also a party with the said Bhanu Pratap and others, there are sufficient reasons to believe that Soren is guilty of the offence of money laundering as per section 3 of PMLA 2002,” the agency stated in a release.

The probe pertains to proceeds of crime generated by allegedly forging official records by showing ‘fake sellers’ and purchasers in the guise of forged or bogus documents to acquire huge parcels of land having value in crores.