The Enforcement Directorate said in the Jharkhand High Court today that former Chief Minister Hemant Soren is connected to the evidence found in different raids.
A trunk full of documents recovered from the hideout of a revenue department employee Bhanu Pratap had many documents related to the land scam, it said.
The court was hearing arguments from ED and Hemant Soren about Soren’s bail plea. During the previous hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal had argued on Soren’s behalf.
During the arguments, the ED said it was said that according to the chats and map recovered from Hemant’s close aide Vinod Singh's mobile, preparations were being made to build a banquet hall on the 8.86 acres of land.
One individual named Hilarius Kachhap was hired by Hemant Soren to look after this land, which he himself possessed.
The ED also argued that the then Circle Officer Manoj Kumar had stated that on the request of the then Media Advisor to CM Abhishek Prasad Pintu and one Uday Shankar working in CMO, he had instructed revenue employee Bhanu Pratap to survey the land.
ED also said that Abhishek Prasad has stated that whatever instructions he gave regarding the land, he gave it only under Soren’s orders.
The agency’s counsel said that the questions raised by the defence on the evidence are completely baseless because it was sealed in the presence of State government employees and the seizure list is duly signed.
The Court has directed Hemant Soren's advocate to submit written arguments.
The Enforcement Directorate's arguments will continue on Thursday, June 13.
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