Jailed former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s trouble in the land fraud case is mounting with each passing day. Days before, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had claimed that Soren took the assistance of a revenue official and custodian of original government records, namely Bhanu Pratap Prasad, in his alleged ‘activities linked to illegal occupation, acquisition or possession of proceeds of crime in form of landed properties’. Soren has been accused of illegally acquiring 8.86 acres of land valued at over Rs 31 crore. Now, the ED has submitted bills for a refrigerator and a smart TV among other key evidence against Soren.
Accusations have arisen regarding Soren’s alleged involvement in the procurement of a refrigerator and a smart TV under the names of Santosh Munda’s family members. Munda claims to have served as a caretaker for Soren’s property situated on disputed land for numerous years, despite Soren’s denial of any affiliation with the land.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) emphasized the acquisition of household appliances under the names of Munda’s family members as evidence of their residency on the disputed property, contradicting Pahan’s ownership claims. The agency alleged that Pahan was colluding with Soren to conceal the unlawful proceeds and obstruct the investigation.
Additionally, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has disregarded Rajkumar Pahan’s assertion of ownership over the land, alleging that he acted as a proxy for Soren to retain control over the asset. The ED disclosed that Pahan attempted to gain possession of the land shortly before Soren’s arrest, prompting the state government to transfer ownership back to him. Originally designated as ‘Bhuinhari’ property, the land was purportedly acquired unlawfully by Soren in 2010-11, despite its traditional ownership by the ‘Mundas’ and ‘Pahans’.
According to Santosh Munda’s testimony, both Soren and his wife visited the property several times, and Munda himself was involved in construction activities there. These details were documented in bills that were deemed crucial evidence in the charge sheet, listed under the ‘relied upon documents’ section. The prosecution under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) was sought against Soren and his co-accused based on this evidence. The 191-page charge sheet identified Soren, Rajkumar Pahan, Hilariyas Kachhap, Bhanu Pratap Prasad, and Binod Singh as the accused parties. On March 30, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seized the disputed land.
The ED had initiated a money laundering investigation in cases of land scams based on multiple First Information Reports (FIRs) registered by Jharkhand Police against several persons including government officials. The ED had earlier carried out 51 searches and nine surveys in such cases and incriminating evidence like forged seals of Land Revenue Department, forged land deeds, records of distribution of Proceeds of Crime, photographs of doing forgery and evidence of giving bribes to Government officials were seized. Searches have resulted in the recovery and seizure of Rs 1.25 crore of cash and further freezing of Rs 3.56 crore of bank account balances.
