ED summons Jharkhand Chief Minister Soren in mining case

New Delhi, Nov 02: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has reportedly summoned Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for questioning in connection with a money laundering probe linked to illegal mining in Jharkhand.

He has been asked to appear before the federal probe agency at its regional office in state capital Ranchi on Thursday. It comes months after the Election Commission of India sent a report to Governor Ramesh Bias, recommending him for the disqualification of the CM.

The central agency had earlier arrested Soren's aide Pankaj Mishra and two others in the case following state-wide raids in July.

According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Pankaj Mishra enjoyed "political clout" and "controls" illegal mining business in the CM's Assembly constituency. This was stated in a statement by the Enforcement Directorate, which filed a charge sheet against Mishra and his two aides and local musclemen - Bachhu Yadav and Prem Prakash - on September 16 before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in the state capital, Ranchi.

Meanwhile, JMM leader Manoj Pandey has said that "they will approach Court if there's injustice. "ED will work. We'll approach Court if there's injustice. "Don't know if ED can summon CM. If so, CM will respond after consulting legal experts. Is it legal to summon him for those allegations? If so, PM should also be summoned in several cases. It's vendetta politics," ANI quoted Pandey in a tweet.