RANCHI: Despite the fact that Jharkhand High Court has ordered no-coercive action against the ED officials in connection with the FIR lodged by former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren at ST/SC police station in Ranchi on January 31, Jharkhand Police has issued notices against them asking to appear before it on March 21. Soren had lodged FIR against the ED officials Kapil Raj, Deovrat Jha, Anupam Kumar, Aman Patel and others under Section 3(1) (P) (R)(S) (U) of ST-SC (PA) Act.
The move was taken by Soren in response to the search operation conducted by the central probe agency at his residence in Delhi. The ED team, during their 13-hour search at Soren’s Delhi residence on January 29 and 30, claimed to have seized `36 lakh, an SUV, and several “incriminating” documents in connection to a money laundering case linked to an alleged land deal in Jharkhand.
Later, the ED approached Jharkhand HC against the FIR lodged against its officials which ordered no coercive action. Soren in his FIR had alleged that the ED conducted the searches at his residence at Shantiniketan and Jharkhand Bhawan on January 27 to tarnish his image. He also charged the ED officials of harassing him for being a tribal and bringing disrepute to him. Notices have also been issued to some media houses in Delhi asking them to disclose the source which informed them about the ED raids at the residence of Soren.
‘BJP pressure won’t work’
The ED has recovered Rs 35 lakh unexplained cash, fake stamps and several incriminating papers during the raids conducted at the locations linked to Congress MLA Amba Prasad, her relatives and close associates. Amba Prasad, however, has denied the allegations leveled by ED saying that, barring a car financed by Jharkhand Assembly, nothing belongs to her.