‘I reside in your hearts’: ‘Untraceable’ Soren back in Ranchi as ED looms

Ranchi/ New Delhi: Within days of political crisis and change of government in Bihar, its neighbouring state of Jharkhand was enveloped in suspense and intrigue over the whereabouts of chief minister Hemant Soren who is being chased by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in a money laundering case.

Finally, the suspense came to an end when Soren surfaced in the state capital, Ranchi, on Tuesday after ED officials were unable to trace him for nearly 30 hours.

Soren chaired a closed-door meeting with MLAs and ministers of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led ruling alliance amid speculation that he might be arrested by the ED. His wife Kalpana Soren was also present as the buzz did the rounds that the mantle of heading the government would fall upon her in the event of Soren’s arrest.

CM Hemant Soren said in Ranchi that he resides in the hearts of people. “I reside in your hearts,” he told reporters when asked about his absence. He was speaking to journalists at Bapu Vatika in Ranchi where he had gone to pay homage to Mahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary.

“We all are committed to follow the footsteps and ideologies of the Father of the Nation. We are proud that such people were born among us and gave us guidance,” he added.

Soren had left for New Delhi on January 27 night. Amid suspense about his whereabouts, he reached his official residence in Ranchi on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday.

Sources close to Soren said that the 48-year-old JMM leader came by road from Delhi, undertaking a more than 1,250 km journey.

All the legislators of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led ruling alliance in Jharkhand were asked not to leave the state capital, and to attend the meeting which was called to discuss strategies regarding the current political situation, and the ED’s plan to question the CM on Wednesday.

“The Jharkhand CM has the blessings of the people, he will be unharmed. We are formulating strategies to face the tyrants,” JMM spokesperson Manoj Pandey said without elaborating. In an email sent to the ED, Soren has agreed to record his statement in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land deal in Jharkhand on January 31 at 1 pm at his residence.

Meanwhile, officials said that the ED searched the Shanti Niketan residence of the JMM leader in south Delhi on Monday, and camped there for almost 13 hours in order to question him. The ED has seized Rs 36 lakh, an SUV and some “incriminating” documents from there, they said.

The ED has so far arrested 14 people in the case, including 2011-batch IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan who served as the director of the state’s Social Welfare Department and deputy commissioner of Ranchi. An employee of the Jharkhand land revenue department, Bhanu Prasad Prasad, was also arrested by the agency in the case.

Earlier in the day, state governor CP Radhakrishnan, who has repeatedly expressed displeasure over the “deteriorating law and order” in the state, called Chief Secretary Lalbiaktluanga Khiangte, and Director General of Police Ajay Kumar Singh at the Raj Bhavan to take stock of the situation.

After the meeting, the DGP said that elaborate security arrangements have been made across the state to maintain law and order, including the deployment of an additional 7,000 policemen.

Prohibitory orders were imposed in key areas of Ranchi, including near the CM House, the Raj Bhavan and the ED office at Doranda, from 10 am to 10 pm, officials said. with agency inputs