Money laundering case: Hemant Soren spotted in Ranchi; may appear before ED on Jan 31

The ED had earlier questioned Soren at his official residence in Ranchi on January 20.

After hours of suspense over his whereabouts, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren reached his official residence in Ranchi on January 30. He is likely to chair a meeting of ruling alliance MLAs.

All the legislators of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led ruling alliance in Jharkhand have been asked not to leave the state capital. They have been asked to attend the meeting scheduled on January 30 afternoon to discuss the current political situation in the state.

While Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials look to question Soren in a money laundering case, a letter from the Chief Minister’s office mentioned that he will be available for questioning on January 31 at 1 pm.

Section 144 of CrPc has been imposed within a 100-metre radius of Soren’s residence, Raj Bhavan, and the ED office in Ranchi.

Meanwhile, accused the CM of being “on the run”. In a post on microblogging site X, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey asked how a man who is absconding will protect the people of the state. "A big advice to those who are doing wrong on the instructions of Chief Minister Hemant Soren ji, the CM is proving himself to be a fugitive, running away from facing the investigating agency, the man is facing insults in the country and abroad all day long. How will that man protect the officers or the people of the state?" he said.

Jharkhand BJP president Babulal Marandi also alleged that according to some reports, Soren "ran away from his Delhi home on foot late at night". Marandi further added, "...We will give a reward of Rs 11,000 to the person who can find and bring the CM."

This comes a day after ED visited Soren’s Delhi residence and did not find him there. According to reports, Soren’s chartered plane is parked at Delhi airport. The phones of his staff members are not reachable. His BMW car in Delhi was seized by the ED. His driver has also been questioned. Some documents and cash worth Rs 36 lakh were reportedly seized.

Soren, it is learnt, left his Delhi residence late on January 28 night. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) General Secretary Supriyo Bhattacharya said that Chief Minister Soren was on a personal trip to Delhi.

"The Chief Minister has been called on January 31. We are ready for January 31. You asked us to tell you the place and time, and we told you the place would be CM's residence on Kanke Road and the time would be 1 pm. Who is creating all the confusion, then? The way the political situation is being presented is against democratic values," Bhattacharya said.

The ED had earlier questioned Soren at his official residence in Ranchi on January 20. It had issued a fresh summons to him asking him to confirm his availability for questioning on either January 29 or January 31, the official sources told News18.