The Central Investigating Agency - Enforcement Directorate (ED) issued a fresh summons to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, asking him to re-appear for the investigation next week, linking to a money laundering case, the official sources said on Saturday.
The chief minister has been requested to confirm his availability for questioning, either on January 29 or January 31. The central agency had initially asked the Jharkhand chief minister to participate in the investigation on any date between January 27 and 31.
However, as there was no official response, a fresh letter-cum-summons has been issued to the 48-year-old politician, who also serves as the executive president of the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).
The ED recorded Soren's statement for the first time in the case on January 20 after its investigators went to his official residence in Ranchi.
The statement was recorded under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) during the nearly seven hours the investigators spent at his home.
It has been learned that the fresh summons was issued as the questioning had not been completed that day.
The investigation pertains to a "huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia" in Jharkhand, according to the agency.
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.
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