Four individuals have been recently arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in relation to a purported money laundering case associated with illegal land acquisition, which allegedly involves former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren and other parties.
Under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has apprehended Antu Tirkey, Priya Ranjan Sahay, Bipin Singh, and Irshad. Following searches at Tirkey's premises and others in the area earlier this week, these individuals were taken into custody. Their arrest brings the total number of individuals detained in connection with this case to eight.
Soren, 48, was arrested by the ED in January shortly after he resigned as the chief minister. He is currently lodged in Birsa Munda jail at Hotwar here under judicial custody. Prime accused and former revenue department sub-inspector Bhanu Pratap Prasad, Mohammed Saddam Hussian and Afshar Ali have also been arrested. The probe against Soren pertains to an 8.86-acre plot of land in Ranchi that the ED has alleged was illegally acquired by him.
The agency had submitted a charge sheet against Soren, Prasad, as well as Soren's purported "frontmen" Raj Kumar Pahan and Hilariyas Kachhap, along with alleged associate of the former CM Binod Singh, to a special PMLA court in Ranchi on March 30. Additionally, the ED has taken steps to attach the Ranchi land and has petitioned the court for the confiscation of the plot.