Ranchi
In the FIR against senior ED personnel at the SC/ST police station here under the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has alleged that the ED conducted the search operation at his residence in the national capital to harass and malign him and his entire (Scheduled Tribe) community.
“An FIR has been lodged against some senior ED officials. We got the application from the Chief Minister,” Ranchi Senior Superintendent of Police, Chandan Kumar Sinha, told news agency PTI.
Mentioning himself as a “member of Scheduled Tribe”, Soren has in his FIR named ED officials Kapil Raj, Deovrat Jha, Anupam Kumar, Aman Patel, “unknown others” and “all officers of the Directorate of Enforcement, Ranchi Zonal Office, having their office at Hinoo, Ranchi”.
His move came even as the ED sleuths started quizzing him in the land scam case for the second time on Wednesday, after January 20.
Soren said he was in Delhi on Saturday and Sunday and found out on Monday that the search was carried out on the premises. “This purported search was without any notice to me nor was my presence required on 29th January 2024 at New Delhi by the abovenamed persons,” the Chief Minister said in his complaint.
“In fact, the abovenamed persons had required me to be present at Ranchi on 29th and 31 January 2024,” he added.
With his whereabouts not known, the BJP alleged the CM was traceless/
On Seizure Of BMW And Cash From His Delhi Residence
“I am not the owner of the car of BMW make which the abovenamed persons claim to have seized. I do not own any illicit cash. The abovenamed persons and unknown others who are not members of any Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe have done the aforesaid acts intentionally to humiliate me in public,” the Chief Minister alleged.
“My family members and I have suffered and experienced immense mental, psychological and emotional harm because of the acts committed by the above-named persons and unknown others who are not members of any SC or ST. I call upon you to register this FIR and take steps in accordance with law,” he stated in the complaint.
The CM claimed the officers leaked “selective misinformation” that a blue BMW car seized from the premises was his and a huge amount of illicit cash belonging to him had also been found.
During the search, the ED claimed to have seized Rs 36 lakh, an SUV and some “incriminating” documents allegedly connected to the purported money laundering case against the Jharkhand Chief Minister.
Family Feud Surfaces
While it is said there is general consensus about his wife Kalpana Soren assuming Chief Ministership in the event of Hemant’s arrest, family feud in the family surfaced over the issue. The Jharkhand CM’s older sister-in-law Sita Soren told a news channel that she would never accept Kalpana’s leadership.
