RANCHI: A day after former Chief Minister Hemant Soren dared the BJP to produce a single document proving that the land, for which he has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), belongs to him; State BJP President Babulal Marandi has come up with new facts and figures proving that the said 8.5 acres of land belongs to Soren.
Marandi also released a video clip in which the guard of the said land piece could be seen saying that the land belongs to Hemant Soren. He alleged that Soren purchased the land in other people's names to conceal black money. "Chori or Seenajori’ (to do the crime and not to accept it) is in the nature of Shibu Soren's family," he added.
According to Marandi, if Hemant Soren had purchased the land in his name, it would have been subject to disproportionate assets charges rather than being registered under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
Marandi disclosed that an order was passed by the Scheduled Area Regulation (SAR) court in haste on January 29, ahead of his arrest, to hand it over to 17 ‘khatiyan’ (land record) holders to whom the land originally belonged.
He further revealed that on August 7, 2023, when the ED first summoned Hemant Soren for questioning on August 14, he did not attend due to the Independence Day celebrations but sensed the ED action. “On August 16, 2023, a person named Rajkumar Pahan applied that the above-mentioned land is under his possession, but others have illegally registered it in their name and hence, their name should be removed.
On the same day, the letter reaches the regional circle officer. On January 9, 2024, a SAR officer sent Circle Inspector (CI) and asked for a report. On January 11, 2024, it was revealed from the CI report that Santosh Pahan has been living there with his family for five years, the title of the land is registered in the name of the Pahan family, and the land’s nature is such that it cannot be sold,” said Marandi.
On January 29, ahead of Soren's arrest on January 31, an order was passed to hand over the land to 17 ‘khatiyan’ (land record) holders to whom the land originally belongs, and online records were revised, he added.
Marandi said that possibly the order copy was recovered from the Delhi residence of Hemant Soren during ED raid on January 29.
JMM, on the other hand, has rubbished the claims made by Babulal Marandi calling it "fabricated."
Meanwhile, reacting strongly against Rahul Gandhi’s claim that Congress is a well-wisher of tribals, Marandi said Rahul Gandhi should apologize to the tribals in Jharkhand for displacing them from their places by acquiring their jal, jungle, and zameen for setting up industries and mines during the tenure of the Congress party. Marandi said that Congress has been exploiting tribals for the last three generations, demanding an apology from Gandhi.