Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has agreed to appear before the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for questioning on January 20 in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. In response to ED's 8th summon in the case, Soren wrote to the agency stating that it could record his statement at his official residence.
The ED had on January 13 sent a letter to the chief minister, asking him to be available for questioning in the case between January 16 and January 20, sources said on Monday night.
The ED sent the letter after Soren skipped seven summonses of the agency in connection with the case.
The investigation pertains to a "huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia" in Jharkhand, according to the ED. The agency has so far arrested 14 people in the case, including 2011-batch IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan who has served as the director of the state Social Welfare Department and deputy commissioner of Ranchi.
With inputs from PTI
