- By Anushka Vats
- Sat, 03 Feb 2024 03:15 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
PMLA Court Ranchi allowed former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren to participate in Floor Test. The permission by court came on Saturday, three days after he was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in a money laundering case related to the alleged land scam.
The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha(JMM) chief was taken to the ED office on Saturday for questioning in connection with the alleged scam.
Meanwhile, Champai Soren took oath as the Chief Minister of Jharkhand on Friday at the Raj Bhavan in Ranchi amid the political crisis in the state. With Soren, Congress' Alamgir Alam and RJD's Satyanand Bhokta also took the oath as ministers in the Jharkhand cabinet.
Earlier, the ED said it had recovered cash worth in excess of Rs 36 lakh from the possession of the JMM chief, along with documents linked to the ongoing 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. ED stated 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 informed further that the probe further revealed that Bhanu Pratap Prasad and others are 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.
The former CM on Friday moved the Supreme Court against his arrest, but the court refused to entertain his plea, challenging his arrest by the ED in the land deal case and asking him to approach the concerned High Court with his petition.
(With inputs from ANI)