Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren heading a JMM-Congress-RJD alliance government has informed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) that he would communicate in due course on his availability for it's ninth summons.
A special messenger from the chief minister’s office handed over a sealed letter at the ED zonal office in Ranchi on Thursday afternoon.
Sources in the ED office who are connected with the probe in the alleged money laundering charges over a land scam in Ranchi informed that the chief minister has only written that “he would communicate about his availability for their summon in due course of time” indicating that he would not be available for their summons between January 27 and 31.
The same source also confided that during the questioning on Saturday at the chief minister’s residence when ED officials said that they might require his cooperation again when needed and Soren had said that he would be tied up till March 31.
Sources in the chief minister’s secretariat confirmed that apart from the budget session which will begin in mid-February there will be a series of launching of welfare schemes in view of the code of conduct which can be imposed any moment after the announcement of the Lok Sabha polls expected any moment in the next month.
Barely 48 hours after quizzing Soren, the ED had on Monday summoned him (ninth time) for questioning.
The ED letter had asked Soren to appear for questioning between January 27 and 31. The letter has also given the chief minister the option of answering the ED questions either at his official residence in Kanke Road or at the ED office on Hinoo Road in Ranchi.
Incidentally, ED officials had interrogated Soren for over seven hours on Saturday at his official residence.
Soren had earlier been quizzed by the ED in November 2022 in Ranchi in connection with an illegal mining case for nearly nine hours.
“ED officials had prepared a list of 50 questions out of which nearly 30 have been asked and the remaining questions need to be asked based on documentary evidence in the land scam case about change of ownership of an army land in Ranchi,” an ED source had earlier revealed.
