According to sources, the ED had written the Chief Minister a letter on January 13 requesting that he be available for questioning in the case between January 16 and January 20.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has been requested by Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren to record his statement at his Secretariat on January 20 in relation to a money-laundering case that is connected to an alleged land scam.
On Monday night (January 15), sources claimed, “The ED had on January 13 sent a letter to the Chief Minister, asking him to be available for questioning in the case between January 16 and January 20.” Following Mr. Soren’s failure to appear for seven agency summonses related to the matter, the ED sent the letter.
“A person from the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) on Monday submitted Mr. Soren’s reply to the letter to the ED’s office in Ranchi, informing that he would be available to record his statement in the case on January 20,” the sources said.
Mr. Soren has never deposed before the ED about the case, despite receiving multiple summonses. He had petitioned the Jharkhand High Court and the Supreme Court, claiming the summons was “unwarranted” and asking for protection from the ED action. Both the courts had dismissed his petition.
According to the sources, Mr. Soren’s response to the letter was turned in to the ED’s Ranchi office on Monday by a representative of the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), who also let them know that he would be available on January 20 to record his statement in the case.