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Former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren was remanded to judicial custody by a special PMLA court here on Thursday in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.
"Hemant Soren has been sent to judicial custody, starting today. The ED didn't pray for a further remand. We will move a bail petition soon," Advocate General Rajiv Ranjan, who appeared for the former Jharkhand CM, told reporters. Soren was earlier remanded in the custody of the central agency for five days on February 7. The ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader was arrested on the night of January 31 after seven hours of questioning by the ED in connection with the money laundering case. He tendered his resignation as CM to the Jharkhand Governor before being arrested by the ED. Earlier, the ED claimed it had recovered cash in excess of Rs 36 lakh from the possession of the JMM chief, along with documents linked to the investigation into the alleged acquisition of land by 'fraudulent means'. The agency added that land parcels spanning 8.5 acres were part of the criminal proceeds that the former CM allegedly acquired. The ED stated further that in a raid conducted on April 13, 2023, they unearthed several property-related records and registers that were in the possession of Revenue Sub-Inspector Bhanu Pratap Prasad. It informed further that the probe further revealed that Bhanu Pratap Prasad and others were part of a "very large syndicate involved in corrupt practices of acquiring properties forcefully as well as on the basis of false deeds". "Considering the facts and circumstances and taking into consideration the activities and processes of money laundering in which Soren is directly involved and is also a party with the said Bhanu Pratap and others, there are sufficient reasons to believe that Soren is guilty of the offence of money laundering as per section 3 of PMLA 2002," the agency stated in a release. The probe pertains to proceeds of crime generated by allegedly forging official records by showing 'fake sellers' and purchasers in the guise of forged or bogus documents to acquire huge parcels of land having value in crores. (ANI)
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