‘Image Tarnished’: Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren Lodges FIR Against ED Officials

Ranchi: Jharkhand police have lodged an FIR against Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials based on a complaint by Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.

The FIR was filed under provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act after Soren accused the central agency officials of “tarnishing his image”.

Soren claimed that he has been maligned by ED officials who reached his Delhi residence without prior information and propagated false news, informed SSP (Ranchi) Chandan Sinha.

Officials of the central probe agency questioned Soren at his Ranchi residence on Wednesday in a money-laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.

On Monday, an ED team visited Soren’s south Delhi residence to question him. Though the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader wasn’t present, ED officials camped there for over 12 hours and claimed to have seized Rs 36 lakh in cash, a BMW SUV “registered under a benami name” and documents from the premises.

Soren was also interrogated by ED on January 20 for 7 hours at his Ranchi residence.

In his letter to police, Soren stated that ED officials had “carried out a purported search” at his official residence in Delhi.

“This purported search was without any notice to me nor was my presence required on January 29 in New Delhi by the named persons (ED officials),” Soren mentioned, adding that officials in question had “leaked selective misinformation that a blue BMW car seized from the said premises belong to me, huge sums of illicit cash belonging to me was found at the said premises.”

According to Soren, he doesn’t own the car.

“I do not own any illicit cash,” Soren said, adding that ED’s actions had been to “humiliate him in public.”

Soren said he and his family have “suffered and experienced immense mental, psychological, and emotional harm” due to the actions of ED officials and called on the police to take action against them.