Jharkhand HC reserves order on bail plea of ex-CM Hemant Soren
Ranchi: The Jharkhand High Court on Thursday reserved its decision on the bail application of former chief minister Hemant Soren, who is currently in jail over allegations related to a money-laundering case linked to a land scam.
Arguments from both Soren’s defence team and the Enforcement Directorate (ED) have concluded, following which the court reserved its order.
Soren, arrested by the ED on January 31 in connection with the case, had sought an expedited hearing from the high court.
His legal representative, senior advocate Meenakshi Arora, argued that Soren, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha executive president, has been unfairly targeted in what she described as a politically motivated and fabricated case.
The ED, opposing Soren’s bail plea, alleged that he misused his position as chief minister to unlawfully acquire 8.86 acres in Bargain anchal in the state capital.
ED counsel SV Raju, while arguing a case opposing the bail application of Soren, said witnesses who have been examined by the federal agency have confirmed the ex-CM’s involvement in the illegal land deal.
The ED further claimed that during the probe, Soren’s media consultant Abhishek Prasad admitted that the former CM instructed him to manipulate official records to change the ownership details of the land.
The ED has arrested an alleged broker in connection with a land grab-linked money laundering case against former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren and some others, official sources said.
According to them, 39-year-old Shekhar Prasad Mahto alias Sehkhar Kushwaha was arrested on Wednesday under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after his interrogation at the federal agency’s zonal office here.
Mahto is alleged to have “connived” with the prime accused in this case and former revenue department sub-inspector Bhanu Pratap Prasad in preparing a “fake” deed and “tampering” government records to “acquire” a 4.83-acre land, valued at Rs 22.61 crore, in Ranchi.
