Leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), Hemant Soren, was sent to one-day judicial detention by a special PMLA court today and thereafter transferred to Hotwar Jail in Ranchi. He was apprehended by the Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday.
Hemant Soren, who resigned as the state Chief Minister before his arrest, has challenged the probe agency’s action in the Supreme Court. He also nominated his close aide and state minister Champai Soren to take over as the chief minister.
Meanwhile, sources close to the JMM claimed that 43 MLAs support Champai Soren and that MLAs from the Jharkhand coalition would probably be flown to Hyderabad.
Hemant Soren filed a formal complaint (FIR) against ED employees earlier on Wednesday due to searches the agency had done at his Delhi home. Soren said in the FIR that the search was carried out by the investigating agency in order to “harass and malign him and his entire community.”
On Thursday, Hemant Soren was produced before a Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Ranchi. The court sent him to judicial custody for a day.
The court also reserved its order on the ED’s application seeking a 10-day remand of Hemant Soren.
