Editor's Pick | Soren ‘untraced’ as ED team visits house

A team of Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials visited the Delhi residence of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on Monday for questioning him in connection with a land fraud case. While the ED team, which camped at the house for more than 12 hours, said the CM could not be located, Mr. Soren later sent a letter to the agency saying it is “motivated by political agenda”. The ED teams will be at the residence till Mr. Soren returns, the sources said, adding that authorities are also keeping vigilance at the Delhi airport. Mr. Soren has been accused of allegedly purchasing and selling tribal land by forging documents between 2020 and 2022. On January 20, the ED had questioned Mr. Soren at his official residence in Ranchi in connection with the case and had issued fresh summons asking him to confirm his availability for questioning on either January 29 or 31, sources said. Officials of the Central probe agency, accompanied by Delhi Police personnel, reached Mr. Soren’s residence at Shanti Niketan in south Delhi around 9 a.m. and were still there after 9 p.m. They moved out briefly from the premises at 8 p.m. and checked a BMW car parked there before going back inside without replying to queries from the media. Meanwhile, in an email to the federal agency on Monday, Mr. Soren alleged that the issuance of summons to him was “wholly vexatious and in colourable exercise of powers given by the statute.” “Preserve video recording of seven-hour questioning [of January 20] to make available to the Court of Law,” Mr. Soren said, while agreeing to record his statement at his residence at 1 p.m. on January 31. Citing the upcoming Assembly session scheduled between February 9 and 29, Mr. Soren said that, under the circumstances, the ED’s insistence to record a further statement on or before January 31 “reeks of malice”. Mr. Soren fears an imminent arrest ahead of the Lok Sabha elections by the ED in the alleged land scam case. The ED scrutiny on Soren is reportedly an attempt to BJP to pre-empt Mr. Soren replacing himself with his wife Kalpana as Jharkhand CM. The Hindu’s Editorials Changing partners: On Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his recurrent political somersaults The best of Tests: On Hyderabad, Brisbane and some cricketing magic The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz Following Nitish Kumar’s switch to the NDA alliance and being sworn in again as Bihar’s Chief Minister, who called him the ‘Chief of Turncoats’? Shashi Tharoor Prashant Kishor Tejashwi Yadav Rahul Gandhi To know the answer and to play the full quiz, click here. [logo] Editor's Pick 30 January 2024 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [[Arrow]Open in browser]( [[Mail icon]More newsletters]( Soren ‘untraced’ as ED team visits house A team of Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials visited the Delhi residence of Jharkhand Chief Minister [Hemant Soren]( on Monday for questioning him in connection with a land fraud case. While the ED team, which camped at the house for more than 12 hours, said the CM could not be located, Mr. Soren later sent a letter to the agency saying it is “motivated by political agenda”. The ED teams will be at the residence till Mr. Soren returns, the sources said, adding that authorities are also keeping vigilance at the Delhi airport. Mr. Soren has been accused of allegedly purchasing and selling tribal land by forging documents between 2020 and 2022. On January 20, the ED had questioned Mr. Soren at his official residence in Ranchi in connection with the case and had issued fresh summons asking him to confirm his availability for questioning on either January 29 or 31, sources said. Officials of the Central probe agency, accompanied by Delhi Police personnel, reached Mr. Soren’s residence at Shanti Niketan in south Delhi around 9 a.m. and were still there after 9 p.m. They moved out briefly from the premises at 8 p.m. and checked a BMW car parked there before going back inside without replying to queries from the media. Meanwhile, in an email to the federal agency on Monday, Mr. Soren alleged that the issuance of summons to him was “wholly vexatious and in colourable exercise of powers given by the statute.” “Preserve video recording of seven-hour questioning [of January 20] to make available to the Court of Law,” Mr. Soren said, while agreeing to record his statement at his residence at 1 p.m. on January 31. Citing the upcoming Assembly session scheduled between February 9 and 29, Mr. Soren said that, under the circumstances, the ED’s insistence to record a further statement on or before January 31 “reeks of malice”. Mr. Soren fears an [imminent arrest]( ahead of the Lok Sabha elections by the ED in the alleged land scam case. The ED scrutiny on Soren is reportedly an attempt to BJP to pre-empt Mr. Soren replacing himself with his wife Kalpana as Jharkhand CM. The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][Changing partners: On Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and his recurrent political somersaultsÂ]( [Arrow][The best of Tests: On Hyderabad, Brisbane and some cricketing magicÂ]( The Hindu’s Daily News Quiz Following Nitish Kumar’s switch to the NDA alliance and being sworn in again as Bihar’s Chief Minister, who called him the ‘Chief of Turncoats’? - Shashi Tharoor - Prashant Kishor - Tejashwi Yadav - Rahul Gandhi To know the answer and to play the full quiz, [click here](. 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