Jharkhand CM row: Kejriwal helped Hemant Soren run away from Delhi, alleges BJP MP

All eyes are on Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren who has managed to dodge Enforcement Directorate officials in the national capital for the last 24 hours but has now surfaced in his state capital to chair a meeting with the ruling alliance MLAs. While ED is after Soren in a case allegedly involving illegal land ownership, speculations are rife that the Jharkhand Chief Minister may be arrested. Here is what transpired during the day in this developing political potboiler.

Ranchi/New Delhi:A political whirlpool is about to form in Jharkhand after Chief Minister Hemant Soren managed to give a miss to Enforcement Directorate sleuths at his Delhi residence for the last few days, only to surface in Ranchi to chair a meeting of the ruling alliance MLAs on Tuesday.

The central probe agency is after Soren in an investigation about a "huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia" in Jharkhand. The ED officials seized Rs 36 lakh, a BMW SUV and some "incriminating" documents after it searched Soren's Delhi house on Tuesday. They had first reached his Delhi residence on Monday to question him in the money laundering case, but they could not locate him. Soren had left for New Delhi on January 27 night. Amid suspense about his whereabouts, he reached his official residence in Ranchi on the intervening night of Monday and Tuesday.

The ED has so far arrested 14 people in the case, including 2011-batch IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan who served as the director of the state's Social Welfare Department and deputy commissioner of Ranchi. An employee of the Jharkhand land revenue department, Bhanu Prasad Prasad, was also arrested by the agency in the case. The ED investigation pertains to "huge amounts of proceeds of crime generated by manipulation of official records by showing dummy sellers and purchasers in the guise of forged/ bogus documents to acquire huge parcels of land having value in crores'.

Here is what transpired during the day:

• 10.05 pm
  BJP MP Nishikant Dubey alleges that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal helped his Jharkhand counterpart "run away" from Delhi while the Enforcement Directorate officials reached the latter's residence on Monday. In a post on X, Dubey wrote: "According to the information, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal helped in driving away Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren ji from Delhi to Ranchi. This cooperation extended till Varanasi. From Ranchi, it was Minister Mithlesh Thakur ji that helped him." He ended the post with Hindi phrase "Chor chor mausere bhai" which roughly translates to "Thieves are cousins'.
• 9:30 pm
  Reacting to the remarks made by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey that rifts are happening in the family of Hemant Soren over his wife Kalpana Soren's candidature on becoming the next Jharkhand CM, JMM leader Basant Soren has said that this is not the family of BJP MP where rifts keep on happening adding that Jharkhand Mukti Morcha is united on all issues.
• 8.00 pm
  On allegations of Rs 36 lakh found at Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren's Delhi residence during Enforcement Directorate (ED) searches, JMM MP Mahua Maji said that money that was found was for party work. "He runs such a big party. All MLAs and MPs deposit money into the party fund from their salaries. Money can be found in his possession due to some party work. Does the BJP not have money in its office?" Maji told news agency ANI.
• 7.15 pm
  Jharkhand BJP chief Babulal Marandi again slammed Hemant Soren calling him a "coward" Chief Minister and said till he "continues to be in power, the state will be nowhere". "If he was missing, he should say where did he run off to? If the Chief Minister is scared of police, Central Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement Directorate, how will he make the officers work? If such a coward Chief Minister continues to be in power, the state will be nowhere. So, he should resign. I would also tell the members of his party to remove him," Marandi told news agency ANI.
• 6.18 pm
  The Enforcement Directorate will question Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Wednesday in Ranchi in a money laundering case probe linked to an alleged land scam, PTI reported quoting official sources. The ED has informed state authorities and central security forces about the composition of its team that will move from its zonal office on Airport Road in Ranchi to Soren's camp office at his residence on January 31 before 1 pm. The questioning will continue from where it ended on January 20.
• 6.05 pm
  "I reside in your hearts", Soren tells reporters at Bapur Vatika when asked about his absence. "We all are committed to follow the footsteps and ideologies of the Father of the Nation. We are proud that such people were born among us and gave us guidance," he said.
• 5.15 pm
  As speculations are rife that Jharkhand CM Soren will be arrested, he paid floral tribute to Gandhi statue at Morabadi in the afternoon after holding a meeting with ruling camp MLAs.
• 4.52 pm
  JMM spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya in press conference: "I told you yesterday that CM has gone to Delhi for his personal reasons and would return after his work is done. He is not just a CM but an institution. He is a prime institution of the state. The statements made by the BJP are completely applicable to CrPC 499, which means defamation...We will soon register the criminal case against the president and MP of the main opposition party..."
• 4.50 pm
  Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) spokesperson Supriyo Bhattacharya is addressing the media on the political situation. Bhattacharya says the Jharkhand Governor is speaking the BJP language. He lashed out at BJP for announcing a 'missing person' reward on Hemant Soren. ""When ED was called on January 31 on whose instructions did the ED go to his house in Delhi? It is being said that 36 lakh were recovered. Is someone authorised to enter one's house in his absence? He is being treated like a criminal. Hemant Soren is not Himanta Biswa Sarma, Ajit Pawar or Nitish Kumar. He is son of Shibu Soren. We will file a fit case against the BJP for announcing reward on Hemant Soren," Bhattacharya said.
• 4.30 pm
  BJP MP Nishikant Dubey claims two Jharkhand Mukti Morcha MLAs have refused to accept Hemant Soren's wife as the new Chief Minister of the state. Speculations are that Kalpana would take over as Jharkhand Chief Minister if the latter was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate. "As per the current information, Jharkhand MLA Sita Soren and Basant Soren have refused to accept Chief Minister Hemant Soren's wife Kalpana Soren or any other MLA as the Chief Minister. Both the MLAs were absent from the legislature party meeting being held in Ranchi," the BJP leader wrote in a post of X (formerly known as Twitter).
• 4.14 pm
  Section 144 CrPc has been implemented in a 100-meter radius of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren's residence, a District Information and Public Relations official in Ranchi announced on Tuesday.
• 3.25 pm
  A party official said in Ranchi that all the legislators of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-led ruling alliance in Jharkhand have been asked not to leave the state capital and to attend a meeting on Tuesday to discuss the current political situation in the state.
• 3.10 pm
  According to sources, Soren reached his official residence in Ranchi past midnight. Today afternoon, he chaired a meeting of the ruling alliance MLAs at the CM House to discuss the present political situation in the state. In photographs and videos shared by the CMO on X, a large number of MLAs and ministers were seen greeting Soren before taking part in the meeting. The CM's wife Kalpana Soren was also present in the meeting.
• 2.35 pm
  In an email sent to the ED, Soren has agreed to record his statement on January 31 at 1 pm at his residence. The federal agency searched the 5/1 Shanti Niketan residence of the JMM leader in south Delhi on Monday, and camped there for almost 13 hours in order to question him in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land deal in Jharkhand, officials said.

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