Hemant Soren invoked SC ST Act, ED officers got trapped!
ED officials were repeatedly sending summons to the state Chief Minister Hemant Soren for questioning in the land scam in Jharkhand, but he was not appearing. CM Hemant Soren gave time to ED officials for questioning on January 31. When ED officials reached the Chief Minister’s residence to interrogate him, there were speculations that the ED would arrest him.
However, before the interrogation could end and the arrest could be made, Hemant Soren made a legal move that no one had expected. The result of this was that before the arrest of Hemant Soren, it was time for ED officers to be arrested.
Complaint filed against ED
Hemant Soren has filed a complaint against four ED officers under the SC-ST Act with the Inspector Incharge of SC-ST Police Station, Ranchi. In his complaint, Hemant Soren has given an application to register a case under the SC-ST Act against four ED officers Kapil Raj, Devvrat Jha, Anupam Kumar and Aman Patel and unknown officials.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren said, “When I came to Ranchi, I saw news in electronic, digital and print media that all these ED officials had come to Delhi to harass me and my entire community and malign my image. Search operation has been conducted in Jharkhand Bhawan and 5 by 1 Shanti Niketan in New Delhi.
What did CM Hemant Soren write in the application?
CM Hemant Soren further wrote, “On January 27 and 28, I went to 50 by 1 in Shanti Niketan, Delhi, which has been taken on lease by the Jharkhand government. On January 29, I came to know that a search operation had been conducted in that house without giving me any notice, even though I was not present there at that time. I had to be present in front of those officials in Ranchi on 29 January and 31 January.
The news of seizure of cash and BMW car from Hemant Soren’s house is also mentioned in the complaint. Hemant Soren wrote, “That BMW car is not mine, nor is that money mine.” The ED officials, who neither belong to the Scheduled Caste nor the Scheduled Tribe, have done all this to harass me.
Sword of arrest on ED officers
On this complaint of CM Hemant Soren, a case has been registered under the SC-ST Act on January 31, whose case number is 6 by 24. Sub Inspector Deepak Kumar Rai has also been appointed the investigating officer of this case. Now because of this, the threat of arrest has hung on those four ED officers Kapil Raj, Devvrat Jha, Anupam Kumar and Aman Patel, who are interrogating Hemant Soren, because the SC-ST Act says that after the case is registered. Immediately the accused are arrested and then further action is taken for questioning or investigation in the case.
In such a situation, what will happen now is that if ED officers arrest Hemant Soren, then Jharkhand Police will also arrest those officers under the SC-ST Act and if ED officers, after arresting Hemant Soren, leave after applying force. If so, then Jharkhand Police will declare all those officers as fugitives. In such a situation, Hemant Soren’s move against SC-ST Act can probably save him from arrest.
