ED attaches Rs 31 crore worth Ranchi land 'belonging' to Soren, court takes cognisance of charge sheet

The Enforcement Directorate ED has attached 886 acres of land in Ranchi allegedly owned by former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren as part of a money laundering investigation against him and his associates the federal agency said on ThursdayThe ED had filed a charge sheet against the 48yearold JMM leader and four others Bhanu Pratap Prasad Raj Kumar Pahan Hilariyas Kachhap and Binod Singh on March 30 before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA court in RanchiThe court took cognisance of the prosecution complaint on Thursday the ED said in a statementThe ED requested the court for confiscation of the 886acre plotSoren was arrested in this case by the ED in January after he was questioned at his official residence in Ranchi He resigned as the chief minister shortly before his arrest He is in judicial custody and currently lodged in the Birsa Munda central jail in Ranchis HotwarThe money laundering investigation stems from multiple FIRs registered by Jharkhand Police in land scam cases against several people including government officialsThe prime accused in the case is Prasad a former Jharkhand revenue department official and custodian of government records who is alleged to have misused his official position by providing assistance to several people including Soren in their activities linked to illegal occupation acquisition and possession of proceeds of crime in the form of landed properties the agency said in its statementA racket of land mafia is active in Jharkhand which used to forge the land records in Ranchi it claimedDuring the probe the ED said it was found that the ownership records of lands had also been forged to extend favours to the said land mafia and subsequently on the basis of forged land records such land parcels were sold to other personsOriginal land records of ownerships are either tampered or concealed to facilitate unlawful acquisition possession and use of such properties it saidPrasad the ED said in its charge sheet was a member of a syndicate which was involved in acquiring lands by fraudulent means which included tampering with original government registers falsification of government records and manufacturing fake documentsThe land that is alleged to have been acquired by Soren is about 886 acres in size and located at Baragain Anchal Bariyatu Road in RanchiIt was valued at Rs 310702480 as per urban residential property rate of Rs 350680 per decimal stated the ED charge sheet which was accessed by PTIThe agency said Soren was in the possession of this immovable asset since 201011 in a camouflaged and concealed mannerIt also accused Soren of misusing his power and influence to create parallel and false evidence since he was issued the first summons for questioning in this case on August 7 2023 for appearance a week laterThe agency said they have recorded the statement of a person identified as Baijnath Munda and his cousin Shyamlal Pahan who claimed that the land which Soren is alleged to have taken over was originally owned by his ancestors and was forcefully acquired by Shibu Soren Hemant Sorens father and Hemant Soren and their complaint in this regard was not accepted at any police station due to their Sorens high influenceThe ED said the land allegedly acquired land was a Bhuinhari property that cannot be transferred or sold to anyone under general situation and Mundas and Pahans were the owners of such land assetsSince this 886 acre property was vacant and no construction was done on it Hemant Soren in connivance with others got hold over his property illegally by asserting it as Bhuinhari property and the earlier persons having possession of the said land were evicted the ED claimedThe agency claimed Soren and Prasad were knowingly a party in the activities connected with acquisition possession concealment and use of proceeds of crime as well as projecting the said proceeds of crime 886 acres land as untainted propertyAccused Pahan Kachhap and Singh knowingly assisted Soren in his activities connected with the proceeds of crimeSoren in his statement to the ED denied having any link to the said property and said he had no relation with PrasadThe ED said during its searches at a residential house under use and control of Soren in Delhi on January 29 Rs 3634 lakh cash a BMW car and incriminating documents were seizedIt said Soren said in his statement to the agency that he used this car the same day The agency claimed the former CM purchased it by personally visiting the vehicle showroomThe ED said it has arrested 16 people in the case including IAS officer and former Ranchi district collector Chhavi Ranjan Amit Kumar Agarwal and Prem PrakashThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion 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