RANCHI: Amid the letter-summon imbroglio, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren is likely to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning in the land scam case on January 31.
According to a source in the Chief Minister’s Office, Soren will be available for the ED on January 31 but, it is unclear whether the questioning will take place at the agency’s office or his official residence.
Soren is currently in New Delhi sparking speculations of something big in the offing in Jharkhand. Meanwhile, the CM’s programme which was scheduled to take place in Jamshedpur, Palamu and Giridih, during which he was to distribute acceptance letter to the beneficiaries of Abua Awas Yojana, stands deferred.
Earlier on January 27, the ED sent a letter to Soren once again, asking him to decide time and place for questioning either on January 29 or 31.
It shot off the letter after Soren skipped its ninth summons and sent a reply expressing his inability to appear before it, citing pre-engagements before March 31.
Notably, after skipping the summons for the eighth time in the case, CM Soren agreed to join the probe, following which, he was questioned by the ED at his residence in Ranchi on January 20 for more than 7 hours.
Now, the ED wants to question him once again. The ED is carrying out an investigation in the alleged Ranchi land scam case on the basis of the documents recovered from Bhanu Pratap’s house, one of the key accused in the case.
According to the central agency, several important documents related to land were found in the raid from the house of Sub-Inspector Bhanu Pratap Prasad of Badagain zone.
Certain documents are allegedly linked with the CM related to the alleged grab of a costly parcel of tribal land in Ranchi.
JMM workers march to guv
Meanwhile, intensifying their protest, the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) workers on Sunday marched towards Raj Bhawan accusing the Centre and BJP of misusing central investigating agencies, but were stopped by police.