ED Seizes Cash and Ammo in Major Jharkhand Land Scam Probe

The Enforcement Directorate seized Rs 1 crore in cash and 100 live bullets during Ranchi raids in a land grab-linked money laundering case against former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren. Soren and others, including officials, were arrested. Soren has denied the charges, claiming a political vendetta.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has confiscated Rs 1 crore in cash and 100 live bullet rounds following raids in Ranchi, officials reported on Saturday. The raids are tied to an alleged land grab and money laundering investigation against former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren and others. According to sources, the cash and ammunition were seized on Friday from the Kanke road residence of Kamlesh Singh.

The operations were part of the ongoing probe into an alleged land-grabbing case involving the former CM and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren, reportedly related to a different land plot. Additionally, the federal agency has filed a police case under the Arms Act concerning the live ammunition seizure.

The ED has apprehended more than 25 individuals, including Soren, IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan, and Bhanu Pratap Prasad, as part of the investigation. The agency has attached land parcels worth Rs 266 crore, including several plots covering 8.86 acres in Ranchi's Bargain area, allegedly acquired illegally by Soren. As of now, four chargesheets have been filed in the case. Hemant Soren, aged 48, has vehemently denied the land grab accusations, asserting that the money laundering case is a political vendetta engineered by the BJP-led central government. Soren was arrested by the ED on January 31 from Ranchi Raj Bhavan moments after resigning as Jharkhand's chief minister.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)