'Where is Soren' row as ED visits his Delhi home

A political row erupted over the whereabouts of Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren on Monday as Enforcement Directorate (ED) sleuths swooped in at his Delhi residence early in the morning, only to find that the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader was not at home.

- Neeraj Chauhan

While people close to the CM said he was "around" Delhi for legal consultation, and stressed that there was no need for ED to come "looking" for him since he had already conveyed to the federal agency that he was available to appear before them at 1pm on Wednesday, leaders of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) attempted to brand the CM as an "absconder".

"What was the hurry of the ED officials that they couldn't wait two days for questioning...is this not an insult to the chief minister and the 3.5 crore people of the state?" said the JMM in a statement late on Wednesday.

But the BJP hit back.

"Due to fear of ED, chief minister Hemant Soren has absconded from the CM's residence in Delhi and gone underground for the last 18 hours... who is the leader of the state in case of the CM absconding? This constitutional question is important," said state BJP chief Babulal Marandi on X.

The central agency's Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) probe against Soren pertains to an alleged land scam linked to the ownership of a parcel of land measuring 7.16 acres in the Bajra area of Ranchi. It has been alleged that the land parcel was acquired through proceeds of crime involving the illegal sale of army land. Soren has dismissed the case as politically motivated and said that the details of his assets are public.

The drama began around 7am on Monday when the agency's team reached Soren's residence at Shanti Niketan and even sent a team to the airport, although agency officials didn't describe the purpose of the visit other than "search". Neither team could locate Soren.