Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren surfaces after 24 hours, meets JMM MLAs in Ranchi

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who, according to the ED, declared him "untraceable", arrived in Ranchi today. On Monday, his house in Delhi was raided by the probe agency and he was not present, prompting the ED to declare him missing.  

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who, according to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), was "missing" for more than 30 hours, arrived at his official residence in Ranchi on Tuesday. Travelling in his official car, Soren smiled and waved at the media persons amid intense speculation of his whereabouts after the ED conducted searches at his official residence in Delhi on Monday in connection with an alleged land fraud case.

Meanwhile, all the legislators of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led ruling alliance have been asked to stay put in Ranchi and attend a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the state's current political situation. The JMM, the Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) are part of the ruling alliance in Jharkhand.

Section 144 of CrPc has been imposed within a 100-meter radius of Soren’s residence, Raj Bhavan and the Enforcement Directorate office in Ranchi. This comes one day after Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was questioned by a team from the Enforcement Directorate at his Delhi home on a money laundering case. While they searched the property, the agency officers set up camp there for more than thirteen hours.

On the other hand, Soren’s party asserted that the chief minister, who left Ranchi for Delhi on January 27, had gone for personal work and would be back soon.

Meanwhile, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey remarked, "As a voter, MP, and citizen of Jharkhand, I am hanging my head in shame," in response to Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren's disappearance.

He said, “Disappearing for last 48 hours, BMW that is before use is perhaps registered under the name of Vinod Singh – who was raided by the IT. Will the CM commute in a private vehicle? He is absconding and not facing the agency.”

The ED has seized Rs 36 lakh, an SUV and some “incriminating” documents after it searched the Delhi residence of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. The ED had questioned Soren at his official residence in Ranchi on January 20 in the case, and issued a tenth summons to him asking him to confirm his availability for questioning on either January 29 or January 31. So far, Soren has skipped ED summonses nine times.