ED Gets Five-Day Custody Of Ex-Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren In Land 'Scam' Case

New Delhi: Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was sent to five days’ custody of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) by a special court under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) on Friday. Soren is facing charges of money laundering in connection with a land fraud case, according to his lawyers. The ED had sought 10 days’ custody of Soren, who is also the executive president of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), on Thursday. However, the court reserved its order and remanded Soren to judicial custody for a day.

Soren was arrested by the ED on the night of January 31, after he was questioned for seven hours in the money laundering case. He had resigned as the chief minister earlier that day, following the loss of confidence motion in the state assembly. Soren’s lawyer, Advocate General Rajeev Ranjan Singh, appealed to the court that his client be allowed to stay in jail at night, citing security reasons. The court has not yet decided on his plea.

Singh also alleged that the ED case against Soren was a conspiracy to overthrow the JMM-led government in Jharkhand, as there was no evidence against the former chief minister in the entire proceedings. He said that Soren was being targeted for his pro-people policies and development work in the state.