The PMLA court in Ranchi today took cognizance of the prosecution (Chargesheet) report filed by the Enforcement Directorate( ED) against ex-CM Hemant Soren among five accused in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. 

In its prosecution report, the ED has accused Soren, suspended Circle Inspector Bhanu Pratap Prasad, Architect Vinod Singh, real owner of the land Raj Kishore Pahan and Hilarius Kacchap. While the first three accused were in jail, the arrest of the last three was imminent.  

The record revealed that in a 5,700-page prosecution report(chargesheet), the ED has named former CM Hemant Soren as the prime accused along with five of his associates, in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. 

ED seems to have relied upon documents’ labeled as being from the chief minister’s office, seized from the office of another accused who directly managed the land deals. 

The prosecution complaint was filed on March 30 with an attachment order for the land parcels worth Rs 30 crore. It is learnt that it has 218 pages with operative details of the case, including 5,500 pages of ‘relied upon documents’. 

At least five to six files have details of the land deals, other documents and deeds as well as the money that came from the land, which the ED recovered from the office of a person under arrest in the case. A source in the central agency said the files have notes referring to the chief minister’s office (CMO) and are even labelled ‘CMO’. 

These have been attached in the chargesheet, which includes payment receipts for the land deals and the plans for building an integrated banquet hall complex.