Screenshots of WhatsApp chats between former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren and his colleagues discussing transfers of senior officials and kickbacks received by some illegal cartels for leaking details of National Civil Services Examination candidates , which are part of an 18-page petition from the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seeking an extension of his custody. News18 has accessed the petition and has a copy of the screenshots.
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The ED arrested Soren last week for alleged land fraud. The agency claimed in the petition that it had retrieved 539 pages of WhatsApp chats, some of which are attached to the petition. During its investigation into the land scam, the agency stumbled upon some more incriminating evidence, including chat logs, which revealed some “malfeasance” in government.
The Ranchi Anti-Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court on Wednesday extended Soren’s ED custody by seven days.
Several months before the arrests, the ED seized several documents, including forged land deeds and other records, mobile phones and land registers, from the residences of the accused and members of the “land syndicate”.
Links to land grabbing syndicates
The ED told the court that the case is based on 17 original registers and a large number of documents filled in 11 boxes which were seized from the residence of accused Bhanu Pratap Prasad on April 14, 2023.
“During the search, Prasad’s mobile phone was also seized and examined. He was involved in corrupt activities and fraudulent acquisition of properties by falsifying original records, creating falsehoods and concealing original records.”
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“For the above purpose, he hid all the registers of the premises under his control and use. Bhanu Pratap Prasad along with six other members of the said land grabbing syndicate were arrested on April 14, 2023 for their involvement in illegal activities. Therefore, as per The above information was shared with the Chief Secretary, Jharkhand under Section 66(2) of PMLA, 2002, following which the said Information Report (FIR) No. 1 was issued. 272/2023 registered in January last year,” it added.
The information shared under Section 66(2) of the PMLA, 2002 was part of the FIR in which details of 17 registers containing property ownership details were shared with the state of Jharkhand. The ED said Prasad was part of a land-grabbing syndicate that acquired land through various illegal means, including making false deeds, forging original registers, tampering with records, concealing records and other fraudulent activities.
Bribery through transfers, sharing of government records and civil service candidate information
The ED said in the petition, “While in custody, the accused, Shri Hemant Soren, came into contact with material provided by this office. The accused has been shown to be strongly uncooperative and unwilling to disclose information regarding what was obtained by him and others associated with him.” the true facts of the property.”
“The accused was also faced with chats he had with his close associate Binod Singh via WhatsApp which were highly criminal in nature and contained details of several properties. However, the accused even refused to sign and admitted to a printout of the WhatsApp chat, although he admitted that there had been conversations between them,” the Ministry of Education said.
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The bureau further stated in the petition, “The above-mentioned WhatsApp chats not only include the exchange of confidential information regarding multiple properties but also include other incriminating information related to money transfers, sharing of government records, etc., in which huge amounts of money appear to be involved.” It has been generated and trade”.
In its petition, the agency provided exclusive details about the nature of conversations that suggested certain improprieties related to the appointment of officials and details of civil service applicants. “Besides this, Binod Singh also had WhatsApp chats with several others regarding officials transferring, holding and sharing several photos of students appearing for the competitive examinations held by the Jharkhand Staff Selection Board Admit card etc.,” the ED added.
“Soren hasn’t produced his phone yet”
The agency explained that the attached WhatsApp chat images “are just a few samples of conversations between Shri Hemant Soren and his colleague Binod Singh.”
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“Their conversations were printed in a total of 539 pages (excluding media). Some confidential documents were exchanged in these chats. Shri Hemant Soren was produced before Vidhan Sabha on February 5, 2024 on the basis of order dated February 3, 2024 Poll. It is alleged that it took considerable time to arrange for his return to this office for the purpose of investigation. During the course of investigation, Shri Hemant Soren was asked to produce the mobile phone on which he had conversed and chatted with Binod Singh,” the ED said in the petition express.
“However, Shri Hemant Soren deliberately failed to produce his mobile phone in order to conceal the facts and delay the investigation related to the alleged proceeds of crime,” it said.
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