The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Congress MP Dhiraj Sahu in connection with his alleged links with former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and a seized BMW SUV. Mr. Sahu has been asked to visit the ED Regional Office of Ranchi on February 10.
Earlier, the Income Tax (I-T) department had conducted raids at the places linked to the Odisha-based distillery group owned by Mr. Sahu and recovered ₹350 crore in cash.
Sources said that apart from the alleged land scam case, the ED is questioning Mr. Soren in connection with the BMW SUV recovered from his residence in New Delhi. According to ED sources, Mr. Sahu had sent the BMW car seized from Mr. Soren’s residence in New Delhi.
On January 29, the ED team had raided the residence of Mr. Soren in Shanti Niketan, New Delhi and recovered ₹36.34 lakh, land-related documents and a BMW SUV having Haryana number from his residence. Then on February 7, the ED raided the premises of Yogesh Aggarwal, a well-known real estate and finance businessman in south Kolkata.
On Wednesday, the Special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court extended the ED remand of Mr. Soren for five days. The questioning is still being continued.
According to the facts presented by the ED for remand for the second time, Mr. Soren’s role is not only connected to the alleged land scam but also in transfer postings in the State.
On December 6 last year, the I-T team had simultaneously raided the premises linked to Mr. Sahu in Odisha, West Bengal, Lohardaga and Ranchi in Jharkhand.
Liquor business
Mr. Sahu had said that they have a joint family and most of them are associated with the liquor business. He had clarified that the recovered money was not his and rather accumulated through the sale of liquor. He had also clarified that the Congress has nothing to do with the recovered money.
BJP leader Gaurav Bhatia posted a message on social media site X: “The BMW seized by ED from Hemant Soren’s Delhi home was registered on the Manesar home address of Congress MP Dheeraj Sahu. The same Dheeraj Sahu from whose company Income Tax had seized ₹352 crore. Only the honest Pradhan Servant Shri Narendra Modi ji can eradicate the termite of corruption.”
Governor’s denial
Meanwhile, Jharkhand Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan has denied the allegation that the Raj Bhavan played a role in the arrest of Mr. Soren. On February 5, while taking part in the trust vote, Mr. Soren alleged that the Raj Bhavan played a role in his arrest along with the ED.
Speaking to the press in Ranchi, Mr. Radhakrishan said there was no question of misuse and the Raj Bhavan never asked him to resign and it was the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) which informed that Mr. Soren was going to resign.
