Hemant Soren’s Car-Nama Endless: Whose Blue BMW Is It? ED is still looking for answers

Who owns the blue BMW car seized from the official residence of former Jharkhand Chief Minister (CM) and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader Hemant Soren in Delhi? A week into the investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the mystery deepened.

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While new documents obtained by the education ministry show that the car is owned by a company of Congress MP Dhiraj Sahu, some electronic evidence from the agency shows that the car was handed over to Hemant Soren by the buyer.

The central agency has seized the car’s sales receipt and other documents showing that the car was purchased in the name of a company whose address is linked to a property owned by Sahu. News18 has a copy of the sales receipt.

How to delete evidence of discussions in WHATSAPP groups

In addition to purchasing documents, the agency also retrieved electronic evidence from seized laptops and mobile phones of some of the defendants and discovered the existence of a WhatsApp group named “ED-HSoren Car.”

Also Read | ‘539 pages of WhatsApp chats, 11 boxes full of land deeds’: Why ED took action against Hemant Soren | Exclusive

Members of the group discussed how to delete details and possible electronic evidence about cars sent to “H Soren’s home”. They also discussed removing some of the defendants from the group, News18 understands.

Not my car: SOREN, SAHU

Before his arrest for land fraud on January 31, Soren posted a video message saying he had never owned the BMW. The ED later summoned and interrogated Sahu in connection with the seizure after discovering his links with the company that owned the car. Sahu also denied any involvement in the purchase of the car.

According to senior ED officials, the investigation into Solon’s movable and immovable assets is still ongoing. Senior officials said the assets, if seized by the Education Department, would be used as evidence of crimes and as proceeds.

Also Read | ‘They can keep targeting me, I’m not afraid’: Hemant Soren’s interview before arrest

In its petition to extend Soren’s custody, the ED said, “The accused has obtained proceeds of crime and abused his position by destroying evidence relevant to the case to show that he has no connection with the property under investigation. For taking action under PMLA 2002, Investigations are required to identify the emerging proceeds of crime and the financial trail associated with them.”

“The statements of other persons in this case are continuing and the outcome of the proceedings under Section 50 of PMLA, 2002 is being corroborated with the statements of Shri Hemant Soren. Fresh searches were also conducted in this case on February 7, 2024, new Incriminating evidence has surfaced. Analysis of the seized items is ongoing based on the statements of the persons involved,” the bureau added.