Hemant Soren created 'false evidence' to mislead probe: ED

Labelling a slew of allegations against former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday (April 4) filed a chargesheet in the murti-crore land scam, naming Soren, revenue officer Bhanu Pratap Prasad, and two other government officials as main accused.

In its extensive chargesheet, the ED is also learned to have accused Soren of not cooperating in the probe as he lied and created “false and parallel evidences” to mislead the agency and evade the probe, according to reports.

The ED is investigating a Rs 600 crore land scam in which the former chief minister is an alleged beneficiary.

Concealing proceeds of crime

“The knowledge of the accused person Hemant Soren about this investigation and his intention to create parallel evidences for concealing his illegal ownership and possession over the property for disassociating himself from it is also evident from the application dated 16.08.2023 filed by his accomplice Rajkumar Pahan just after the issuance of first summons to him, ie, the accused Hemant Soren on 07.08.2023 for his appearance on 14.08.2023,” the ED said in its chargesheet.

Alleging that Soren concealed the “true nature of the proceeds of crime”, the central agency added, “Such actions on the part of accused person Hemant Soren itself amounts to projecting tainted property as untainted apart from concealing the true nature of the proceeds of crime and fulfil the ingredients of the offence of money laundering under Section 3 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002.”

Soren’s aide part of mafia

The ED’s case is built around a 44-page file its investigators allegedly found in Prasad's office, which contained evidence of an 8.86-acre land Soren possessed in Ranchi’s Badgai area.

Prasad who was part of a land mafia manipulated government land records to facilitate the illegal transfer of land to his boss Soren. “Prasad was a member of a syndicate, which was involved in acquiring lands by fraudulent means, that included tampering with original government registers, falsification of government records and manufacturing fake documents,” the ED said in its chargesheet.

Ranjit Singh, Hilarius Kachhap, and Rajkumar, all close aides of Soren, also helped their boss to occupy the land, which is now worth Rs. 31 crore, according to the ED findings, which has been seized.

During a raid on Soren’s residence, the ED officials also confiscated a cash of Rs. 36 lakh cash and a BMW car. The agency has also seized properties worth Rs. 256 crore rupees from the mafia, according to the chargesheet.

The ED has recorded statements of 33 witnesses in the case and collected thousands of documents during its investigation.

Soren was arrested on January 31 for his alleged involvement in the scam under the PMLA.