A day after the release of former Jharkhand chief minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Hemant Soren, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Pratul Shah Deo mocked JMM workers and leaders for celebrating the bail, calling it “premature” and said that the land scam case against Soren has not been resolved yet.
“Since yesterday, the JMM party workers and leaders have been celebrating so much. I just do not understand why they are so happy. Hemant Soren has just been granted bail by the honourable single bench of the high court and nothing else,” the BJP spokesperson said.
Pratul Shah Deo further highlighted that the court had earlier stated that, prima facie, there is a strong case against Soren and the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is moving in the right direction.
“He has not been declared guilt-free. The allegations against him are very serious. Another bench of the court stated that prima facie there is a strong case against him, and ED is proceeding in the right direction. I feel that their celebration is premature. The trial in the whole case is yet to be done. ED has already stated that it is an open and serious case,” said the BJP spokesperson.
Notably, Hemant Soren, who had been facing a probe in an alleged land scam case, walked out of the Birsa Munda Jail following a bail order from the Jharkhand High Court on Friday.
JMM leaders gathered outside the Birsa Munda Jail to catch a glimpse of the tribal leader, who was arrested by the ED in January on charges related to an alleged land scam and money laundering.
The investigation in the case concerns the purported generation of substantial proceeds through the forgery of official records, involving fake sellers and buyers to acquire large parcels of land worth crores.
In related events, on March 22, a Special PMLA court extended Soren’s judicial custody until April 4.
Soren was presented via video conferencing. The Ranchi police had also issued a notice to ED officials to join the investigation following an FIR filed by Soren under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act.
The Jharkhand High Court had previously ordered no coercive action against ED officials after the agency filed a petition challenging Soren’s FIR. Soren had alleged that the ED’s searches at his residences were aimed at tarnishing his image and harassing him for being a tribal.
The ED claimed to have recovered Rs 36 lakh in cash and documents related to the investigation, alleging that Soren had acquired 8.5 acres of land through fraudulent means. The investigation revealed that a syndicate, including Revenue Sub-Inspector Bhanu Pratap Prasad, was involved in corrupt property acquisitions.
Soren’s petition to attend the Jharkhand Legislative Assembly’s budget session was dismissed by the High Court on February 29.
He had resigned as Chief Minister following his arrest in the money laundering case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
