Hemant Soren

Shortly after the change in leadership was confirmed, Hemant Soren was taken into custody by the ED.

Soren alleged that the ED conducted the search operation at his residence in the national capital to "harass and malign him and his entire community", the officials said, quoting the FIR.

This comes against the backdrop of strong rumours that Hemant Soren’s wife Kalpana will be the first choice for the CM post if her husband is arrested.

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JMM spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya said a similar case will also be filed against a BJP MP who "tweets frequently", apparently indicating Nishikant Dubey.

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 to discuss the current political situation in the state.

The Enforcement Directorate on January 29 carried out raids at three different locations, with a notable focus on Soren's house in Shanti Niketan, Delhi. Despite an exhaustive search that persisted late into the night, there was no indication or trace of the Jharkhand CM.

Official sources claimed Soren was "missing" and could not be contacted by the federal agency but a family member alleged that a "false" narrative was being set to "delegitimise" the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader's position.

"Preserve video recording of seven-hour questioning (of January 20) to make available to the Court of Law," Soren said in the email sent on Sunday, while agreeing to record his statement on January 31 at 1 pm at his residence.

Around 2,000 security personnel were deployed, and prohibitory orders under section 144 of the CrPC were also imposed around the CM’s house, the statement issued by JMM general secretaries Supriyo Bhattacharya and Vinod Kumar Pandey said.

Under the proposal, the qualifying age for pension for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and women will be 50 years.

About a dozen locations in the state are being raided by the central agency under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they said.

About 26 per cent of Jharkhand's population are tribals, and JMM banks on this vote for electoral success.

Soren, 48, has been asked by the central agency to inform the investigating officer of the case about the date, venue and time of his choice so that his statement can be recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Soon after Soren went to Dumka, an official from the Chief Minister’s Office reached the ED office and handed over a letter, sources said.

BJP spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia hit out at the INDIA bloc following the recovery of a huge sum of cash by central probe agencies during raids at locations related to a business group linked to Congress MP from Jharkhand Dhiraj Prasad Sahu.

The approvals were given during a meeting of council of ministers chaired by Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

The decision was taken at the cabinet meeting here chaired by Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

Soren said, "A large population of Makrampur, Kalabagan, Kolarkonda, Asanpani, Dharampur, Sindurpur, Chuapani, Sagarbari, Rajpada of Masalia and Ranishwar blocks were re-established with the main city of Dumka. The construction of the bridge created an alternative route to connect Dumka with West Bengal."

The ED has arrested several people so far in the state, including Soren’s political aide Pankaj Mishra in the case.