The troubles of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren are not showing signs of diminishing. A new twist has come in the 8.86 acre land scam against him worth more than Rs 31 crore. ED has also attached the bills of fridge and smart TV as evidence in this case. ED has included this evidence in the chargesheet filed against Hemant Soren and four others. ED said that the fridge and TV were purchased in the name of two family members of Santosh Munda. The fridge was purchased in the name of Munda's son and the smart TV in the name of his daughter. Santosh Munda told ED that he was looking after the said 8.86 acres of land for 14-15 years. The ED used Munda's statement to refute Hemant Soren's claim that he had nothing to do with the land.
He also rejected the claim of a person named Rajkumar Pahan on this land. ED had seized this land on March 30. It is noteworthy that after Soren resigned from the post of Chief Minister on January 31, within a few minutes the ED had arrested him in a money laundering case related to land grabbing. At present, Soren is in judicial custody in Birsa Munda Jail, Hotwar, Ranchi. The ED claimed that soon after the first summons was issued to Soren in the case last August, Pahan had written to the Ranchi Deputy Commissioner saying that he and several others owned the land. Previous changes in the names of other owners should be cancelled. The ED alleged that the state government returned the land to Pahan on January 29, two days before Soren's arrest.