Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren To Not Appear Before ED Today In Illegal Mining Case

Hemant Soren was summoned by the ED on Wednesday to appear on November 3 before its Ranchi-based office for questioning in connection with the illegal mining case.

Hemant Soren To Not Appear Before ED in Illegal mining case. ( Image Source :Twitter/ANI )

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who was summoned by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday to appear on November 3 before its Ranchi-based office for questioning in connection with the illegal mining case, will not go to the agency’s office as reported by the news agency ANI.

“We'll fight constitutionally. CM (Hemant Soren) won't go (to the ED office), he has prior plans. He'll attend his programs,” ANI quoted Congress MLA Ramchandra Singh saying.

Jharkhand | We'll fight constitutionally. CM (Hemant Soren) won't go (to the ED office), he has prior plans. He'll attend his programs: Congress MLA Ramchandra Singh (02.11) https://t.co/Z1gmguZF9z pic.twitter.com/ULmLw7JrOt

— ANI (@ANI) November 3, 2022

The ED had summoned Hemant Soren on Wednesday and asked him to appear for questioning on November 3 in its ongoing probe into an illegal mining case. Soren has been asked by the agency to appear before its Jharkhand's Ranchi-based regional office by 11.30 am.

The probe agency’s summon came almost a month after it seized a passbook and a chequebook, including two signed cheques, of Soren from the home of his alleged close associate Pankaj Mishra, who enjoyed political clout being the representative of Soren and exercised considerable control over illegal mining businesses as well as inland ferry services in Sahebganj and its adjoining areas through his accomplices.

Mishra is in judicial custody now for exercising control over the mining of stone chips and boulders and installing and operating several crushers set up across various mining sites in Jharkhand's Sahebganj district.

The ED made the revelations after it filed a Prosecution Complaint under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002 before the special court at Jharkhand's capital Ranchi against Pankaj Mishra, Bachhu Yadav, and Prem Prakash. ED conducted 47 searches throughout India and seized cash amounting to Rs 5.34 crore and freeze bank balances amounting to Rs 13.32 crore.

The probe agency also froze an inland vessel MV Infralink -III, reg. No- WB 1809, 5 number of stone crushers, two Hyva trucks besides the seizure of incriminating documents along with two numbers of AK 47 Assault Rifles.

(With ANI Inputs)