Jharkhand: Former CM Hemant Soren's ED custody extended by five days

Former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren's custody was extended by five days in connection with the Enforcement Directorate probe into an alleged land scam.

The Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader was on February 1 sent to one-day judicial custody by a special PMLA court in Ranchi.

The ED had sought 10-day remand of Soren. He was arrested on January 31, 2024, by the ED officials.


Justice Dinesh Rai, the Special Judge of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court, reserved the order after hearing both sides.

Soren was on Wednesday night arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) after six hours of questioning in the money laundering case linked to the alleged land scam.

According to the ED, CM Soren was questioned as a part of the probe into the "huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia".

The probe pertains to huge amounts of proceeds of crime generated by forging official records by showing "fake sellers" and purchasers in the guise of forged or bogus documents to acquire huge parcels of land valued in crores.