Soren illegally acquired 12 land parcels in Ranchi, ED tells court

Former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren had illegally acquired and possessed 12 adjacent land parcels in Ranchi measuring 8.5 acres, obtained by "a very large syndicate" involved in grabbing properties, the Enforcement Directorate claimed on Thursday, a day after the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha chief was arrested on money laundering charges in connection with an alleged land dead.

- Neeraj Chauhan

The federal agency made the claim while producing Soren before a special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court in Ranchi, which sent the JMM leader to judicial custody for a day even as ED sought his 10-day custody.

HT had exclusively reported on Thursday that ED arrested 48-year-old Soren under PMLA for allegedly grabbing a parcel of land in Jharkhand illegally.

The ED case against Soren stems from June 2023 raids against Bhanu Pratap Prasad, a sub-inspector in revenue department in the state, who allegedly worked with the land mafia.

"Prasad was actively involved in hatching conspiracies with other persons to acquire and conceal various properties in an illegal manner including the properties which are illegally acquired and possessed by Hemant Soren," ED said in its court documents on Thursday.