HC seeks ED’s reply in bail plea filed by Soren

RANCHI: The Jharkhand High Court on Tuesday directed the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file a reply on the bail application moved by former chief minister Hemant Soren.

Soren, who was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on January 31 in connection with a money-laundering case linked to an alleged land scam, filed the petition before the high court on Monday and requested an early hearing of the matter.

Appearing on behalf of Soren before a bench of Justice Rongon Mukhopadhyay, senior advocate Kapil Sibal pleaded that the JMM leader was a victim of political conspiracy.

The court directed the ED to file a response in the matter and set June 10 as the next date of the hearing. In his petition, Soren pleaded before the court that his name does not figure in any of the documents about 8.5 acres of land in the Bargain circle and no offence under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act is made out against him.

He also claimed that the ED was relying only on statements of some people who had said that the land parcel belonged to him, but there was “no document to back such statements”. Soren had resigned as the chief minister before his arrest on January 31. He was accused of being instrumental in tampering with land documents for a plot in bargain in Ranchi.