ed-urges-jharkhand-hc-for-cbi-probe-in-sc-st-case-filed-by-hemant-soren

The Enforcement Directorate has urged the Jharkhand High Court to hand over the investigation of a case under the SC and ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act against its officers and media persons to the Central Bureau of Investigation. 

 

The case is presently being investigated by Jharkhand Police after the former Jharkhand Chief Minister filed an FIR against ED officers and media persons at the SC, ST Police Station in Ranchi hours before his arrest by ED on January 31. 

 

The Ranchi Police had sent notices to the ED officials including Assistant Director Kapil Raj, Assistant Director Devvrat Jha, Anupam Kumar, and another officer in the case under CRPC-41A, and had called them for questioning to the police station.  

 

However, the Jharkhand High Court put a stay on the notice after the ED filed a quashing petition in the High Court urging the court to dismiss the case. The ED has contended that the case had been filed by Soren with the intention to disrupt the ongoing investigation of the land-grabbing case related to money laundering by Soren and his accomplices and destroy evidence.

 

It is pertinent to mention that the Ranchi Police have recently recorded statements of Hillarious Kachhap and Rajkumar Pahan, both accused in the money laundering case, under section 164, in the SC, ST case lodged by Soren. Notably, the former Jharkhand Chief Minister had accused the ED of tarnishing his image in the FIR. 

 

On January 27, ED sleuths conducted a search operation at Hemant Soren's official residence and Jharkhand Bhawan in Delhi. A few hours before his arrest, Soren had filed an application in the ST-SC police station of Ranchi and registered an FIR against the ED officers.

 

He had alleged in the FIR that the ED officers had conducted raids at his Delhi residence and Jharkhand Bhawan to tarnish his image as a tribal person and thus blemish the tribal society as a whole.

 

Notably, notices were also served to the media institutions of Delhi as well as the media institutions of Ranchi by the Gonda police station of Ranchi Police. The media institutions are being asked that on January 27 on what basis news of raids on the then CM Hemant Soren's residence in Shanti Niketan, Delhi were published.

 

In the notice sent to journalists of media organizations based in Delhi and Ranchi, they were asked to appear and provide information about their source of news.