In the case of money laundering against Hemant Soren, the ED has arrested four more people

According to official sources on Wednesday, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has made four further arrests in relation to the money laundering case against former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren and others, which is allegedly tied to an unlawful land grab.

Antu Tirkey, Priya Ranjan Sahay, Bipin Singh, and Irshad have been identified as those detained in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), they added.

Tirkey and a few other people’s homes were searched by the ED on Tuesday, and after interrogation, the four were taken into custody.

Singh is a real estate entrepreneur, and Tirkey is purportedly connected to Soren. The charge sheet in the case states that Sahay “forged” a number of papers pertaining to land in addition to other documents.

Eight persons have been detained in connection with this investigation as a result of these arrests.

Not long after he quit as chief minister in January, Soren, 48, was taken into custody by the ED. He is now being held in judicial custody at the Birsa Munda prison in Hotwar. Mohammed Saddam Hussain, Afshar Ali, and prime accused Bhanu Pratap Prasad, a former sub-inspector of the tax department, have all been taken into custody.

The investigation against Soren concerns an 8.86-acre Ranchi property that the ED claims he unlawfully purchased.

In his bail plea, filed Tuesday before a special court in Ranchi, Soren claimed that the ED had arrested him for political reasons and that this was all part of a well-planned plot to force him into joining the BJP.

Before a special PMLA court here on March 30, the agency had submitted a charge sheet against Soren, Prasad, Soren’s purported “frontmen,” Raj Kumar Pahan and Hilariyas Kachhap, as well as the former chief minister’s purported ally, Binod Singh.

Additionally, the ED has annexed the Ranchi property and asked the court to seize the parcel.

The Jharkhand Police filed many First Information Reports (FIRs) in land “scam” cases against various individuals, including state government officials, which led to the money laundering inquiry.

As the keeper of official documents, is the main culprit in this case. According to the ED’s statement, he is accused of having “misused” his official position by helping a number of individuals, including Soren, with their unlawful occupation, purchase, and ownership of landed properties as proceeds of crime.

It had said, “A land mafia racket used to forge the land records in Ranchi is active in Jharkhand.”