There is no government in Jharkhand for 18 hours now and a situation of confusion has emerged, Chief Minister-in-waiting Champai Soren has told Governor CP Radhakrishnan, urging him to take immediate steps for government formation. The Governor, it is learnt, has now called Mr Soren at 5.30 pm.

Mr Soren was yesterday chosen the legislative party leader of Jharkhand Mukti Morcha after Hemant Soren stepped down as the Chief Minister and was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in a corruption case.

In his letter to the Governor, Champai Soren said he had yesterday submitted a letter of support signed by 47 MLAs from JMM, Congress and RJD — more than the majority mark in the 81-member Assembly — to the Governor. He added that all the MLAs had accompanied him to the Raj Bhavan, but were not allowed inside.

“Sir, currently there is no government in the state for the last 18 hours. There is a situation of confusion. Being the constitutional head, we, the MLAs, and the people of the state expect that you will soon take steps for the formation of a popular government and take the state out of confusion,” he wrote in Hindi.

Champai Soren added that he can take all the MLAs backing him to the Governor’s residence to assure him that he has majority support.

Hemant Soren is being investigated in connection with an alleged racket of illegal change of land ownership by mafia in Jharkhand.

The JMM leader has alleged that the probe agency has abused its power to destabilise a democratically elected government. Hemant Soren has approached the Supreme Court on the issue and the petition has been listed for tomorrow.

“The Enforcement Directorate is brazenly acting under the dictates of the Central Government and hounding the petitioner to destabilise a democratically elected government headed by the petitioner, who is the Chief Minister of the State of Jharkhand,” he has said in the petition.

Four foreign nationals and a luxurious house near Delhi – a detail that didn’t mean much to anyone until it was known that the team of four was using the property to produce “fine-quality” banned methamphetamine drugs.

The lab at the “luxurious and lonely private place” at Alestonia Estate in Uttar Pradesh’s Greater Noida was busted by the Delhi Police on Tuesday. The police recovered 445 grams of fine-quality banned methamphetamine drug and 20.5 kg of raw materials that included one kg of pseudoephedrine – an ingredient for the illicit manufacture of methamphetamines. Sophisticated equipment, including a heating mantle machine and high-quality face masks, were also recovered from the lab.

Nigerian national Eze Uchenna James (49), Alitumo Ifedi Shedrack (28), Eze Ibe Emeka Chibuzo alias Iko (56) and Kenyan national Ivo Osita alias Usta alias Osey (44) have been arrested, police said.

Out of the accused, Eze, Alitumo and Ivo were previously arrested and convicted in drug trafficking cases and were out on conditional bail, according to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Dwarka) Ankit Singh.

The drug bust was part of an ongoing operation by the Delhi Police against the suppliers of narcotics substances.

On November 27, 2023, a team of the Anti-Narcotics Cell of Dwarka district got a secret tip-off about a Nigerian national being involved in a drug syndicate. The team conducted a raid and caught Eze from Uttam Nagar.

Soon after Eze’s arrest, his associate Alitumo was caught from the same area of Uttam Nagar on January 11 and about 100 grams of methamphetamine drug was recovered from his possession.

The police said Alitumo along with Ibe and Ivo used to manufacture fine-quality methamphetamine drug in the Greater Noida-based lab, a raid was conducted and all of them were caught on January 16.

Police said the accused used to distribute the drugs to their potential customers in Delhi and nearby areas.

Former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren – arrested late Wednesday night by the Enforcement Directorate on money laundering charges – has been sent to judicial custody for one day, with a definitive ruling on the central agency’s request for 10-day custody expected Friday afternoon. 

The Ranchi special court before which Mr Soren – whom the agency claims was directly involved in an alleged Rs 600 crore land scam – was presented this morning, delayed passing its final order because the Supreme Court has taken cognisance of a petition by the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader.

Hours before he was produced in the special court, Mr Soren had moved the Supreme Court to challenge his arrest by the Enforcement Directorate. In his petition, he said the agency had “abused its power and acted in a malafide manner to destabilise a democratically-elected state government”.

He also called his arrest “illegal and without jurisdiction”; Mr Soren has already filed one case against senior officers of the probe agency under the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribes Act.

“The ED is brazenly acting under the (diktats) of the central government and hounding the petitioner to destabilise a democratically-elected government headed by the petitioner…” he complained.

A bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud agreed to hear the plea at 2 pm Friday.

Visuals from earlier in the day – from outside the Ranchi courtroom – showed a confident Mr Soren smiling and waving as he got out of a vehicle and was escorted inside surrounded by ED officials and security personnel.

The agency believes Hemant Soren was “directly involved with acquisition (and) possession of land” and also in the use of proceeds of the crime. Details of these illegally acquired properties were found on phones of other accused in the case, the agency is expected to tell the court in today’s hearing.

Meanwhile, Champai Soren, who is expected to replace Hemant Soren as the Chief Minister, will meet Jharkhand Governor CP Radhakrishnan at 5.30 pm. In a brief letter this morning, he said he had the support of a majority of lawmakers and the ability to “provide a stable government in the state”.

READ | “No Government In Jharkhand For 18 Hours”: Champai Soren’s SOS To Governor

He also red-flagged the lack of a functioning government and the “situation of confusion”, and said, “…the MLAs, and people of the state, expect you will take steps to form a popular government.”

Champai Soren, the Transport Minister, is seen as an acceptable alternative to Hemant Soren’s original plan – to make his wife, Kalpana Soren, the Chief Minister till he returns to power.

READ | How Champai Soren Emerged Consensus Candidate As Jharkhand Chief Minister

There was, however, opposition to that idea, with many in the party, including the Chief Minister’s extended family, who said Ms Soren – not a MLA – did not have the necessary experience.

Hemant Soren was arrested Wednesday night amid high drama all this week, starting with “the case of the missing Chief Minister” that played out from Monday morning to Tuesday afternoon.

READ | Before Hemant Soren’s Arrest, Drama Outside Raj Bhavan In Jharkhand

He had flown into Delhi Saturday night and was reportedly seen leaving his home in the city’s Shantiniketan area the following night – on foot and with a shawl around his head.

The Enforcement Directorate turned up at 7 am the following day to find the house empty and Mr Soren’s whereabouts unknown. The agency said it seized Rs 36 lakh in cash and a luxury SUV.

READ | Hemant Soren’s 1,300 km Car Journey As Probe Agency Watched Delhi Airport

Mr Soren remained “missing” till Tuesday, when he popped up in Ranchi to hold a meeting of his party’s lawmakers. Reports said he had taken a nearly 1,300 km road trip from Delhi.

After he emerged in Ranchi, he was questioned by the ED for over seven hours.

As the day wore on, it became clear Hemant Soren would be arrested and, in dramatic final moments, NDTV was told he refused to sign his arrest memo till he had resigned.

READ | Hemant Soren Refused To Sign Arrest Memo Until He Resigned: Sources

This, sources said, was to avoid the distinction of becoming the first sitting Chief Minister to be arrested. Giving in to his demand, the ED team took Mr Soren to Raj Bhavan to resign.

He was then taken to the agency’s office in the city and formally arrested.

NDTV is now available on WhatsApp channels. Click on the link to get all the latest updates from NDTV on your chat.