New Delhi:

The Enforcement Directorate has alleged in its charge sheet that former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren was involved in a Rs 6 billion land scam involving corruption and manipulation. The chargesheet names Hemant Soren, revenue officer Bhanu Pratap Prasad and two other government employees as accused.

Mr Soren is being investigated for alleged illegal changes in land ownership by the Jharkhand mafia. He resigned as chief minister of Jharkhand before his arrest.

According to the charge sheet obtained by NDTV, statements and documents in the case established that Hemant Soren was part of the “land mafia” and enjoyed the proceeds of crime.

During the course of investigation, the officials found a 44-page document in Mr. Pratap’s office containing vital information about the 8.86 acres of land owned by Hemant Soren. The chargesheet mentions that Mr Pratap once called Mr Soren “boss”.

The agency alleged that Hemant Soren had illegally occupied 8.86 acres of land in Ranchi’s Bargain area since 2011.

The property, now worth Rs 31 crore, has been seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

According to ED’s findings, the land was allegedly occupied by Hemant Soren’s close aides Ranjit Singh, Hilarius Kachhap and Rajkumar.

According to ED, Bhanu Pratap was part of a syndicate that tampered with government land documents to facilitate land grabs and included the involvement of several government officials including Hemant Soren.

The ED provided photographs of two surveys conducted at the property, suggesting that Bhanu Pratap was among the accused.

Santosh Munda, the caretaker of the property, confirmed its ownership to “Minister Ji”, referring to Hemant Soren.

A photo retrieved from the mobile phone of accused Binod Kumar showed plans to build a banking hall on the property.

In a statement to ED, Hemant Soren claimed to know nothing about the property and remained tight-lipped about his conversations with Binod.

The agency said Bhanu Pratap referred to Hemant Soren as his boss and orchestrated the looting of 8.86 acres of land, manipulating government records.

Diaries and messages on another accused’s mobile phone revealed financial transactions involving Bhanu Pratap.

The ED has collected testimonies from 33 witnesses and seized thousands of pages of documents.

Rs 36 lakh in cash and a BMW car were confiscated from Hemant Soren’s residence in Delhi.

The ED has so far attached properties worth Rs 256 crore illegally seized by the ‘syndicate’.

So far, 16 accused have been arrested in connection with the case, including Hemant Soren and former Ranchi DC IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan.

Soren has denied the charges against him and accused the BJP of misusing investigative agencies to destabilize the elected government.