ED FILES AFFIDAVIT IN HC IN SOREN’S CASE AGAINST HIS ARREST

The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) filed an affidavit before the Jharkhand high court on Friday in connection with Hemant Soren’s petition challenging his arrest, even as the federal agency continued questioning the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader under its custody and other close associates of his, officials said.

The HC is scheduled to hear Soren’s petition on February 12, and it had directed the ED to file the affidavit by Friday. While ED officials confirmed the development, they refused to share the details, stating that the matter was sub judice. Former chief minister Hemant Soren was arrested on January 31 and sent to ED custody on February 2.

Meanwhile, one of the main accused in the land scam and revenue department employee, Bhanu Pratap Prasad, was produced before a special PMLA court on Friday after his fourday remand ended.

According to an official, the ED prayed for an extension of the remand period by seven days, and the court did so by four days.

Additionally, at its zonal office in Hinoo, the probe agency remained busy interrogating Soren, his friend and press adviser Abhishekh Srivastava, his other friend and architect Binod Singh, and revenue employee Prasad, the official added.

Another ED official said that the probe agency had a tough time interrogating Soren, who was reluctant to talk about his WhatsApp chat with his friend and architect Binod Singh. “The matter (WhatsApp chat) is not associated with a predicate offence,” the ED official quoted Soren as saying.

“A predicate offence is a crime component of a more complex criminal activity, often associated with money laundering or organized crime,” a civil court lawyer explained.