ED To Question Hemant Soren Today: If Arrested, His Wife Kalpana Prepared To Take Over As Jharkhand CM

Kalpana Soren, wife of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, might replace him as the next Chief Minister of the state if he is arrested, NDTV reported citing sources from Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Party.

The Enforcement Directorate is set to question Chief Minister Hemant Soren in Ranchi regarding a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. Official sources, cited by PTI, have revealed the seizure of Rs 36 lakh, a BMW SUV, and "incriminating" documents during a search of his residence in the national capital.

Following an ED team's visit to the Delhi home of the JMM executive president, where officials initially claimed he was "untraceable," Soren reappeared at his official residence in Jharkhand's capital. On Tuesday, he conducted a meeting with alliance MLAs, putting an end to the over 24-hour-long suspense regarding his whereabouts.

According to NDTV sources, Soren announced at the meeting that his wife would assume his responsibilities. Party leaders and alliance members reportedly support this decision as saving the government is important for them at this stage.

The interrogation will resume from the point it concluded on January 20th. Around 16-17 queries were posed to Soren, and his statements were documented both in written form and through audio-video recordings, in accordance with the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The investigators from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had spent approximately seven hours at the Chief Minister's residence during that day.

The Jharkhand CM is being questioned as part of a probe into an alleged "huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia" in Jharkhand. The central agency, so far, has arrested 14 people in connection with this case including including 2011-batch IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan who served as the director of the state's Social Welfare Department and deputy commissioner of Ranchi.