Security beefed up ahead of Jharkhand CM’s questioning by ED

Ranchi, Jan 20 (PTI) Security has been beefed up around the Chief Minister’s house and zonal office of the Enforcement Directorate here on Saturday, ahead of the scheduled questioning of CM Hemant Soren by the federal agency sleuths in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.

The ED officials are scheduled to visit the CM House around noon for questioning in connection with the case.

Barricading was done outside the ED office and CM residence.

Senior Superintendent of Police, Ranchi, Chandan Kumar Sinha told PTI: “More than 1,000 security personnel have been deployed. Three-layer security has been ensured.

Ranchi administration has ensured three-layer security arrangements around the probe agency’s office and CM House to avoid any untoward incident, he said.

There will be restrictions on traffic movement near CM’s residence until the questioning gets over, the official said.

Ranchi SSP, city SP and Sadar DSP have been monitoring the security and law and order situation. Water cannon and fire brigade vehicles have been stationed near the CM residence. Barricading has been placed in three places around the CM House and security forces in every chowk to disperse the agitators.

The agency had sent a letter on January 13 asking the chief minister to be available for questioning in the case between January 16 and January 20.

In reply, Soren told the ED it can record his statement on January 20 at his residence.

The investigation pertains to a “huge racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia” in Jharkhand, according to the ED.

Amid protest by the JMM and several tribal outfits, the probe agency wrote to the chief secretary Lalbiaktluanga Khiangte, director general of police Ajay Kumar Singh and the Ranchi Senior Superintendent of Police to ensure security and to maintain law and order when ED officials visit the CM’s residence to question him, an official said.

On Friday, several tribal organisations took out a protest march in Ranchi against the central agency with hundreds of tribals carrying traditional weapons bows and arrows, flags of the ‘Sarna’ religion and posters of Soren.

While the posters written in Hindi said, ‘Stop harassing the tribal chief minister’ the protestors also held a demonstration near Raj Bhavan and threatened that Jharkhand would see another ‘Ulgulan’ (revolt) if ED did not stop its activities against Soren.

‘Ulgulan’ was a movement started by Birsa Munda against the exploitation and discrimination against tribals by the local authorities in the 19th century.

Soren, also the JMM executive president, had skipped seven summonses of the ED in connection with a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.

On January 16, the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) called for a nine-hour strike in Sahibganj district to protest against the ED summons to Soren.

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.

Soren had filed a petition before the Supreme Court and the Jharkhand High Court, seeking protection from the ED action and terming the summonses “unwarranted”. Both courts dismissed his petitions.