Jharkhand Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan on Wednesday dismissed apprehensions about law-and-order problems in the State, ahead of Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s scheduled questioning by the Enforcement Directorate in relation to an alleged land scam case.
“Why [does] the law and order have to be affected? ED is doing its duty and it is the duty of the Chief Minister to give the right answers to ED. No Chief Minister is above the law,” the Governor told journalists, during an interaction on the sidelines of a university event in Ranchi.
Mr. Soren has finally agreed to record his statement before the ED at the State Secretariat, after skipping eight previous summons issued by the agency. On January 13, the ED wrote to the CM, asking him to be available for questioning in the case between January 16 and 20. The ED is now likely to interrogate Mr. Soren on January 20.
Also Read | Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren asks ED to record his statement in land case in his office
Law-and-order threats
Workers of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) have expressed their growing resentment against the ED by holding protests and blocking roads in several districts. On Tuesday, JMM workers called for a bandh, and took out a torch procession in Sahibganj district. They are continuously threatening that the situation in the State will worsen due to the ED’s actions, spurring concerns about public law and order.
The Governor said that such resentment had no place in a democracy. “Why should the public get angry? There is no question, in a democracy, it’s not allowed. Do you know how the Prime Minister has answered to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) for a long time? You have to give the answers if you want to become the leader,” he said.
Mr. Radhakrishnan was referring to then-Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who had appeared for questioning before the SIT appointed by the Supreme Court in 2010, in connection with the 2002 communal riots in the State.
Also Read | ED issues summons to Hemant Soren’s media advisor and two others in illegal mining case
Political battle
Fearing possible arrest ahead of the Lok Sabha election, Mr. Soren is apparently preparing the ground to use the corruption allegations against him and his close associates into a political battle. The Opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on the other hand, has launched a campaign to preempt the possibility of Mr. Soren’s wife Kalpana Soren replacing him as CM in the event of his arrest.
On January 9, the Jharkhand Cabinet had approved guidelines making it mandatory for external probe agencies to inform the Cabinet Secretariat and Vigilance Department through department heads about any notices being issued.
Also Read | ED sends Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren ‘last chance’ seventh summons in land scam case
Ranchi businessman arrested
In a different case, the ED on Wednesday said that it had arrested Ranchi businessman Mohammad Ezhar Ansari on January 16 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002. He was produced before the Special PMLA Court in Ranchi, which granted the ED custody for six days. The agency’s probe has shown that Mr. Ansari misused the coal linkage policy under which subsidised coal was allotted to small and medium enterprises (SME) for captive consumption, the ED said.
Around 86,568 tonnes of coal with a market value of ₹71 crore were allotted to 13 SME firms belonging to Mr. Ansari. However, instead of using it for captive consumption, he diverted and sold the coal in the open market instead. Further investigation showed that these 13 firms were non-operational shell entities, the ED said.
During searches of premises linked to Mr. Ansari in March 2023, proceeds of crime to the tune of ₹3.58 crore were found and seized, along with many incriminating digital and documentary evidences, the agency added.
