Hemant Soren becomes third Jharkhand chief minister to be arrested

RANCHI: Hemant Soren has become the third Jharkhand Chief Minister to be arrested after being taken into custody by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case. Before Hemant Soren, his father Shibu Soren and Madhu Koda were arrested when they were chief ministers. Now Hemant Soren's name has also reached this list.

Hemant Soren's father and former chief minister Shibu Soren was arrested in the case of kidnapping and murder of private secretary Shashi Nath Jha in 1994. Delhi court sentenced him to life imprisonment on December 5, 2006 in this case. When Manmohan Singh was Prime Minister, Shibu Soren was the coal minister in the then Cabinet.

In August 2007, the Delhi High Court acquitted Shibu Soren after the CBI failed to find evidence in the case. In April 2018, the Supreme Court upheld the Delhi High Court verdict acquitting Shibu Soren in the case of murdering his private secretary. Shashi Nath Jha went missing in May 1994 and his body was later found in Ranchi.

Former Jharkhand chief minister Madhu Koda was arrested in corruption cases during his tenure. As per the UPA front agreement, Madhu Koda became the chief minister during 2006-2008. The case is money laundering and illegal acquisition of property. The CBI and ED had accused him of being involved in a mining scam and accepting bribes for allotment of coal and mining blocks during his tenure as chief minister.

A report pointed that Madhu Koda and his accomplices earned more than 4000 crores through this scam. The ED confiscated 144 crore from Madhu Koda in the money laundering case. Madhu was arrested in 2009 and released on bail in 2013. The court sentenced him to three years imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 25 lakh in this case in 2017.