Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who was reported missing, has returned to his official residence in Ranchi. This comes after he received a notice from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and faced a series of questions. Reports suggest that Soren's unplanned visit to Delhi was in connection with legal consultations, but he faced scrutiny from the ED.Amid heightened drama, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey claimed that Soren escaped from Delhi with the assistance of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.According to Dubey, Kejriwal facilitated Soren's journey to Varanasi, and from there, Jharkhand minister Mithilesh Kumar helped him reach Ranchi. Both Kejriwal and Mithilesh Kumar have not responded to the allegations. Soren is scheduled to appear before the ED at his Ranchi residence at 1 pm.
Where was he?
The sequence of events unfolded on January 29 when the ED sent a team to Soren's Delhi house, suspecting his presence in the capital. Soren had flown to Delhi on January 26 via a chartered plane and was expected to return the same way. The ED team, stationed at the airport, did not find him at his Shanti Niketan residence in New Delhi on Monday morning. The agency seized ₹36 lakh in cash, two BMW luxury cars registered in Haryana, and some documents. BJP leaders claimed Soren was missing for over 30 hours.
During this period, Soren embarked on a road trip covering around 1,300 km from Delhi to Ranchi, taking approximately 21 hours. He reached Ranchi on Tuesday, holding two meetings and countering BJP's claims of his disappearance. Photos of Soren paying tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his death anniversary were shared by his party. When questioned about his whereabouts, he responded, "I reside in your hearts."
Amid speculations about Soren's possible arrest, MLAs signed a letter of support without revealing their names. There were discussions about making Soren's wife, Kalpana Soren, the chief minister in case of his arrest, but BJP MP Nishikant Dubey claimed that Soren's brother and sister-in-law, both MLAs, opposed this proposal. Kalpana is not an MLA. The JMM argued that since Soren had informed the ED about his willingness to speak to them on January 31, the agency's visit to his Delhi residence on Monday was unnecessary. Soren is facing questioning in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.