Illegal mining case: Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren alleges ‘conspiracy’ ahead of questioning

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren is expected to appear for questioning before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Ranchi on Thursday in connection with an illegal mining case

FP Staff|Nov 17, 2022, 12:03:35 IST

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who is expected to appear for questioning before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Ranchi on Thursday in connection with an illegal mining case, denied the allegations against him and alleged ‘conspiracy’.

Addressing the press ahead of his appearance, CM Soren said, “Allegations don't seem to be possible at all. I feel agencies should come to a concrete conclusion only after a detailed probe. I'm a CM, the manner in which summoning is being done makes it look like we're people who flee the country.”

“Such actions create uncertainty in the state. It can be called a conspiracy to destabilise the government. Our rivals were conspiring to topple the government ever since we came to power. This submarine of the conspiracy didn't have the strength to rise out of water-attempts being made to bring it out,” he added.

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) supporters and party workers gathered outside the CM residence in Ranchi and are carrying out the ‘Jan Aakrosh’ rally.

The probing agency is expected to question Soren regarding the ‘two signed cheques and 31 blank cheques all pertaining to Hemant Soren held with Bank of India’ from his close associate Pankaj Mishra’s possession, reported Indian Express. Mishra, who was arrested by the ED in July this year, was shifted to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi owing to his health complications.

In its complaint, the ED has cited JMM’s former treasurer Ravi Kejriwal’s statement in which he said that the ‘CM’ at a meeting directed Mishra to directly ‘hand over the funds’ coming from stone and sand mining in Santhal Parganas to Prem Prakash, who would in turn hand over the money to a businessman. Read all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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