Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren's aide, top officials searched in connection with illegal mining case

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday raided more than 10 locations across Ranchi and Rajasthan in connection with a money laundering case linked to an illegal mining case involving Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. This comes a day after Soren lashed out at the probe agency, accusing it of conducting a politically biased investigation against him. Details indicate that searches were also conducted at the residence of Chief Minister Hemant Soren's press advisor, Abhishek Prasad.

Additionally, the Enforcement Directorate was conducting raids on the property of Rajendra Dubey, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) of Hazaribag city in Jharkhand. Searches were also underway at the premises of Ram Nivas, the District Collector of Sahibganj town in the state, and his residence at his native place in Rajasthan.

The Enforcement Directorate was also searching the homes of a number of intermediaries who were thought to have played important roles in enabling illegal trades. Chief Minister Hemant Soren has skipped the Enforcement Directorate summons for seven times so far.

The agency has arrested 14 people in the case, including 2011-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Chhavi Ranjan, who had earlier served as the director of the state social welfare department and deputy commissioner of Ranchi.

In addition, Soren is under investigation for possible money laundering related to the Sahebganj district illicit mining case. The chief minister, who oversees the geology and mining departments, is accused of breaking election laws in 2021 when he granted himself a mining lease. Soren has claimed a bigger plot to "harass a tribal leader" and denies any culpability. The ED searches comes just months ahead of the national election.

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• Hemant Soren
• Jharkhand
• Enforcement Directorate