Jharkhand: Kalpana Soren takes oath amidst court listing of Hemant Soren’s bail plea for further hearing on June 12

Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader and wife of jailed former Chief Minister (CM), Hemant Soren, Kalpana Soren, took oath as a member of the Jharkhand assembly on June 10 from Gandey Constituency.

Kalpana has taken her oath following her victory in the Gandey by-poll held on May 20 where she defeated Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) candidate, Dilip Kumar Verma, with over 27k votes.

The newly elected legislator of the Jharkhand state assembly was at the forefront of the party’s campaign during the recently concluded Lok Sabha polls in the absence of Hemant Soren.

JMM has emerged victorious on as many as three seats including the high-profile seat of Dumka where JMM’s candidate defeated Sita Murmu, a member of the Soren’s extended family who was locking horns with the former on a BJP ticket.

JMM is part of the Indian National Devepolmental Inclusive Alliance (I.N.D.I.A) which has emerged victorious in 5 out of the 14 Lok Sabha seats of the state. All the remaining 9 seats have been won by the BJP led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

High Court to hear ED’s argument in alleged Land Grab case on Wednesday

Meanwhile hearing on a bail petition filed by Hemant Soren, the Jharkhand High Court on Monday has listed the matter for further hearing on June 12.

The court after hearing Soren’s council Kapil Sibal who submitted that the case linked to his client is a civil matter and not a criminal one, listed the matter for further hearing on Wednesday where it will hear ED’s reply into the case, reported ETV.

Earlier the court on May 28 while directing the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to file its reply into the matter had listed Soren’s regular bail petition for hearing on June 10.

The High Court had given these directives after the former CM filed a regular bail petition before the Jharkhand High Court on May 27 following the withdrawal of his petition for interim relief before the Supreme Court on May 22.

Earlier, Soren, through his council, had sought similar relief like Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal for campaigning in Lok Sabha elections, which the apex court refused, citing that for any interim relief, the petitioner needed to satisfy the court that the land claimed by the ED did not belong to Soren.

A special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court of Ranchi on May 30 had extended the judicial remand of Hemant Soren, and others in connection with money laundering case linked to an alleged land grab till June 13. The PMLA court had previously rejected Soren’s bail petition application in the case.

Alleged Land Grab Case

Notably, the ED is probing a case against former CM, Soren and others for allegedly grabbing 8.5 acres of land of Badgain circle through fraudulent means.

The agency, during its probe into the case, has alleged that huge amount of proceed of crime were generated through manipulations of official records involving fictitious transactions and forged documents to acquire valuable lands worth crores of rupees in the scam.

Significantly, ED had filed a prosecution complaint against Soren and four others before a special PMLA court in connection with the case in April this year.

ED, Ranchi has filed a Prosecution Complaint (PC) against Hemant Soren & four othersin one of the cases of land scam being investigated under the provisions of PMLA, 2002, for acquiring, possessing and concealing the proceeds of crime in the nature of an immovable property…

— ED (@dir_ed) April 4, 2024

In its complaint, the agency accused the persons named in the complaint for allegedly acquiring, possessing and concealing the proceeds of crime in the nature of an immovable property measuring 8.8 acres at Bariyatu of Ranchi. The case is being investigated under the PMLA, 2002.

Notably, ED arrested Soren after hours of questioning in connection with the case on January 31 this year. Following Soren’s arrest by the ED, senior leader from the party, Champai Soren, was sworn in as the new CM of the state on February 2 this year.

Tug of war over Soren’s security in jail

Meanwhile, former Chief Minister and BJP president of the state, Babu Lal Marandi, slammed the incumbent state government on June 9 over the allegation of Soren’s torture in jail.

Taking to the X, the former CM while reacting to a post over an ongoing campaign to free Hemant Soren, said that “Isn’t it the pretext to remove Champai Soren from the post of Chief Minister and install Kalpana Soren there?”

Marandi, while reminding that the jail and its administration is entirely a state subject expressed its disbelief over allegation of torture and threats to Hemant Soren. “The government is yours so as the jail administration, the Chief Minister Champai Soren himself visits you on a regular basis then with whom you are threatened?”

I would request CM Champai Soren to immediately transfer Hemant Soren Ji to a secure jail in another state where he will not be subjected to the alleged torture and his comfort can be taken special care of, added Marandi while asserting that the ED should also find out who is torturing his prisoner in jail and why?

अज्ञानी हेमंत सोरेन को पता होना चाहिए कि जेल और इसका प्रबंधन पूर्णतः राज्य सरकार का विषय है। जब सरकार आपकी, जेल प्रबंधन आपका… , मुख्यमंत्री चंपाई आये दिन खुद जेल जाकर घटों आपकी आरती उतार रहे हैं, चरणवंदना कर रहे हैं, तो फिर आपको खतरा किससे है?

कहीं इसी बहाने चंपाई सोरेन को… pic.twitter.com/D1fwwRv3jL

— Babulal Marandi (@yourBabulal) June 9, 2024

Marandi remarks comes on the heels of recent allegations made from the official X handle of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) about alleged atrocities on Soren, who is currently lodged in Birsa Munda Hotwar Jail in judicial custody.

While drawing a comparison between Soren and Stan Swamy, an accused in the Elgaar Parishad CPI Maoist case who died in custody in 2021, the tweet stated that “Just as Father Stan, who raised his voice for the most vulnerable section, was silenced by institutional neglect and injustice, today the same kind of oppression is being done on Hemant Soren.”