Continuing with the probe into alleged land scam-related money laundering, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) grilled Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dheeraj Prasad Sahu for over five hours on Sunday. In the same case, the former Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Hemant Soren, was recently arrested. Citing officials from the central agency, the news agency PTI reported that Dheeraj Sahu faced the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for the second consecutive day on Sunday. On Saturday, ED had subjected him to an 11-hour-long questioning session.
An ED official disclosed that Dheeraj Sahu entered the Ranchi ED office around 3 PM on Sunday and exited close to 8:30 PM. Speaking to reporters post his ED office visit, Sahu remarked, 'Some paperwork was ongoing and I was cooperating.' Officials stated that the ED recorded Sahu's statement regarding his purported links with Hemant Soren and an expensive car, which the agency had seized during a search operation last month from the residence of JMM's Executive President (Hemant Soren) in Delhi.
ED officials found the keys to a luxury car (BMW) at a property leased by the Jharkhand government in South Delhi, and following the completion of a raid, they took possession of the vehicle. Post the interrogation on Saturday night, Dheeraj Sahu told reporters, 'There isn’t much... The seized vehicle doesn’t belong to the former CM and is owned by someone else... The inquiry continues.' Sources suggest that the luxury car seized by ED from the Jharkhand government's South Delhi property is registered in the name of Dheeraj Sahu's company.
Congress Rajya Sabha MP Dheeraj Sahu drew the spotlight last December when the Income Tax Department seized INR 351.8 crore during a raid at premises linked to Baudh Distillery Private Limited in Odisha. The said company, Baudh Distillery Private Limited, is owned by relatives of Dheeraj Sahu. The officials elucidated that ED interrogated Sahibganj's Deputy Commissioner Ramniwas Yadav for the second consecutive day on Sunday, related to a probe into alleged illegal mining and money laundering in the state.
