Section 144 under CrPc has been imposed within 100 meters radius of Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren's residence, Raj Bhavan and ED office in Ranchi on Tuesday, news agency ANI reported. This order will remain in force till 10 pm. During this period, any kind of protest or demonstration has been banned. Many types of reactions are emerging regarding this in political circles and social media.
This comes as the ED visits Soren's Delhi home to interview him in connection with a money laundering investigation.
Earlier last week, the agency issued fresh summons to Soren, requesting him to confirm his availability for interrogation on either January 29 or January 31. In a letter to the Enforcement Directorate, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren stated that he will record his testimony before agency officials on Wednesday at 1 p.m. at his house.
“You are well aware that the Budget Session of the Legislative Assembly will be held between 2nd and 29th February 2024 and the undersigned will be pre-occupied with preparations for the same apart from other prior scheduled official engagements,” the letter written by Soren to ED’s Ranchi office said.
“In these circumstances, your insistence to record a further statement of the undersigned on or before 31 January 2024 reeks of malice and reveals your political agenda to disrupt the functioning of the State Government and prevent an elected representative of the people from discharging his official duties,” Soren’s letter to the ED said.
JMM leader Manoj Pandey on Tuesday said: "An elected govt is harassing an elected CM, is it a sin to be a tribal? Hemant Soren had informed ED that he would be available on 31st January, ED himself had given a deadline of 31st January, so why was a probe on January 29, why so much desperation? He is a beloved CM not a fugitive...this is an insult to the people of Jharkhand and the tribals..."
The agency recorded the chief minister's statement for the first time in the case on January 20, after investigators went to his official house in Ranchi. They took his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) during the approximately seven hours they spent at his residence.