ED attaches Rs 31-cr worth Ranchi land 'belonging' to Soren, court takes cognisance of charge sheet
Ranchi (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached 8.86 acres of land in Ranchi allegedly owned by former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren as part of a money laundering investigation against him and his associates, the federal agency said on Thursday.
The ED had filed a charge sheet against the 48-year-old JMM leader and four others -- Bhanu Pratap Prasad, Raj Kumar Pahan, Hilariyas Kachhap and Binod Singh -- on March 30 before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court here.
The court took cognisance of the prosecution complaint on Thursday, the ED said in a statement.
The ED requested the court for confiscation of the 8.86-acre plot.
Soren was arrested in this case by the ED in January after he was questioned at his official residence in Ranchi. He resigned as the chief minister shortly before his arrest. He is in judicial custody and currently lodged in the Birsa Munda central jail in Ranchi's Hotwar.
The money laundering investigation stems from multiple FIRs registered by Jharkhand Police in land "scam" cases against several people, including government officials.
The prime accused in the case is Prasad, a former Jharkhand revenue department official and custodian of government records, who is alleged to have "misused" his official position by providing assistance to several people including Soren in their activities linked to illegal occupation, acquisition and possession of proceeds of crime in the form of landed properties, the agency said in its statement.
"A racket of land mafia is active in Jharkhand which used to forge the land records in Ranchi," it claimed.
During the probe, the ED said, it was found that the ownership records of lands had also been "forged" to extend favours to the said land mafia and subsequently, on the basis of forged land records, such land parcels were sold to other persons.
"Original land records of ownerships are either tampered or concealed to facilitate unlawful acquisition, possession and use of such properties," it said.
Prasad, the ED said in its charge sheet, was a member of a syndicate which was involved in acquiring lands by fraudulent means which included tampering with original government registers, falsification of government records and manufacturing fake documents.
The land that is alleged to have been acquired by Soren is about 8.86 acres in size and located at Baragain Anchal, Bariyatu Road in Ranchi.
It was valued at Rs 31,07,02,480 as per urban residential property rate of Rs 3,50,680 per decimal, stated the ED charge sheet, which was accessed by PTI.
The agency said Soren was in the "possession" of this immovable asset since 2010-11 in a "camouflaged and concealed" manner.
It also accused Soren of "misusing his power and influence" to create "parallel and false evidence" since he was issued the first summons for questioning in this case on August 7, 2023 for appearance a week later.
The agency said they have recorded the statement of a person identified as Baijnath Munda and his cousin Shyamlal Pahan who claimed that the land, which Soren is alleged to have taken over, "was originally owned by his ancestors and was forcefully acquired by Shibu Soren (Hemant Soren's father) and Hemant Soren" and their complaint in this regard was not accepted at any police station due to their (Sorens) "high influence".
The ED said the land allegedly "acquired" land was a 'Bhuinhari' property that cannot be transferred or sold to anyone under general situation and 'Mundas' and 'Pahans' were the owners of such land assets.
"Since this 8.86 acre property was vacant and no construction was done on it, Hemant Soren, in connivance with others, got hold over his property illegally by asserting it as 'Bhuinhari' property and the earlier persons having possession of the said land were evicted...," the ED claimed.
The agency claimed Soren and Prasad were "knowingly" a party in the activities connected with acquisition, possession, concealment and use of proceeds of crime as well as projecting the said proceeds of crime (8.86 acres land) as untainted property.
Accused Pahan, Kachhap and Singh "knowingly assisted" Soren in his activities connected with the proceeds of crime.
Soren, in his statement to the ED, denied having any link to the said property and said he had no relation with Prasad.
The ED said during its searches at a residential house "under use and control" of Soren in Delhi on January 29, Rs 36.34 lakh cash, a BMW car and incriminating documents were seized.
It said Soren said in his statement to the agency that he used this car the same day. The agency claimed the former CM purchased it by personally visiting the vehicle showroom.
The ED said it has arrested 16 people in the case including IAS officer and former Ranchi district collector Chhavi Ranjan, Amit Kumar Agarwal and Prem Prakash.
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Bhojshala complex registered as 'mosque' in old revenue records: Muslim side to MP HC
Indore (PTI): The disputed Bhojshala Temple-Kamal Maula Mosque complex has historically been registered as a 'mosque' in revenue records and available sources don't clearly mention any Saraswati temple established by then-king Raja Bhoj, the Muslim side has told the Madhya Pradesh High Court.
The Hindu community considers Bhojshala a temple dedicated to Goddess Saraswati, while the Muslim side calls the 11th-century monument Kamal Maula Mosque. The disputed complex located in Dhar district is protected by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
During the hearing before the HC's Indore bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Justice Alok Awasthi on Wednesday, Qazi Moinuddin questioned two PILs filed as intervenors in the Bhojshala case by an organisation named Hindu Front for Justice, one Kuldeep Tiwari and another individual.
Moinuddin claims to be a descendant of Sufi saint Maulana Kamaluddin Chishti and the 'Sajjadanashin' (spiritual head, guru, or successor of a Sufi shrine, khanqah, or religious site).
The PILs state that Bhojshala is actually a Saraswati temple and only Hindus should be granted the right to worship at the disputed complex.
Moinuddin's lawyer, Noor Ahmed Sheikh, claimed in the court that his client's ancestors, who are descendants of Maulana Kamaluddin Chishti, have historically held titles to the complex, and the site was also recorded as a "mosque" in government revenue records.
He contended that those associated with the management of the Kamal Maula Mosque, located within the complex, have been in "continuous and peaceful occupation" of the site for a long time.
Citing Muslim law, Sheikh argued that in the case of religious property, particularly a mosque or its related properties, officials such as the Sajjadanashin and Mutawalli (person entrusted with management, maintenance, and administration of a Waqf), and their descendants, not only have the right to intervene, but also have the right to manage and use such a structure.
Citing provisions of the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act 1904, the Muslim side's lawyer said the term "in-charge of the property" is used in this law, which makes it clear that the person or party who has been in charge of a property for a long time has rights over it.
During the hearing, Touseef Warsi, the lawyer representing the Maulana Kamaluddin Welfare Society of Dhar, claimed that Hindu parties in both PILs had made "misleading representations" regarding historical facts before the high court.
He further claimed that available historical sources do not clearly mention the existence of a Saraswati temple established by Raja Bhoj, the legendary king of the Parmar dynasty who ruled Dhar from 1010 to 1055.
The ASI, a central government agency, has adopted three different positions in the lawsuits filed regarding the Bhojshala dispute, changing its answers from time to time, and this situation raises serious questions about judicial scrutiny of the complex, Warsi submitted.
He raised objections regarding the ASI's process of scientific survey of the Bhojshala complex, carried out on the HC order in 2024, and the method of videography and requested the court to examine these objections.
The hearing in the Bhojshala case will continue on Thursday.
The HC has been regularly hearing four petitions and one writ appeal since April 6, contesting the religious nature of the monument.
