The Enforcement Directorate, in their chargesheet, has alleged a web of corruption and manipulation in a Rs 600 crore land scam in which former Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren is an accused. The chargesheet names Hemant Soren, revenue officer Bhanu Pratap Prasad, and two other government employees are accused.

Mr Soren is being investigated in connection with an alleged racket of illegal change of land ownership by the mafia in Jharkhand. He resigned as Jharkhand Chief Minister just before his arrest.

According to the chargesheet accessed by NDTV, statements and documents in the case confirmed that Hemant Soren was part of the ‘land mafia’ and enjoyed the proceeds of the crime.

During the probe, officials found a 44-page file in Mr Pratap’s office, containing crucial information regarding an 8.86-acre land owned by Hemant Soren. The chargesheet mentions that Mr Pratap used to refer to Mr Soren as ‘boss’.

Hemant Soren had illegally occupied the 8.86-acre land in the Bargain area of Ranchi since 2011, the agency claimed.

The property, now valued at Rs 31 crores, has been seized by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

The occupation of this land allegedly occurred through Hemant Soren’s close aides Ranjit Singh, Hilarius Kachhap, and Rajkumar, as per ED’s findings.

According to ED, Bhanu Pratap was part of a syndicate altering government land documents to facilitate land grabs, with involvement from several government officials, including Hemant Soren.

ED included photos of two surveys conducted on the property, implicating Bhanu Pratap among the accused.

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

A photo retrieved from accused Binod Kumar’s mobile revealed plans for constructing a bank hall on the property.

Hemant Soren, in his statement to ED, claimed ignorance regarding the property and remained tight-lipped about his chats with Binod.

Bhanu Pratap referred to Hemant Soren as his boss and orchestrated the land grab on the 8.86 acres, manipulating government records, the agency claims.

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

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

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

ED has now seized properties worth Rs 256 crore rupees which were illegally seized by this ‘syndicate’.

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

Mr Soren has denied the allegations against him and accused the BJP of abusing probe agencies to destabilise democratically elected governments.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday kept its key lending rate unchanged at 6.5% for the seventh consecutive time. The decision was taken by a 5:1 majority at the bi-monthly Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, said RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das. An unchanged repo rate means the loan interest rates too are likely to remain unchanged.

Mr Das also said that inflation is moving closer to targets. Core inflation has declined steadily over the last nine months while the fuel component remained in deflation for six straight months, he said.

“As the uncertainties in food prices continue to pose challenges, the MPC remains vigilant to the upside risk to inflation that may derail the path of disinflation,” he said, adding that the outlook for agricultural and rural activity appears bright.

Robust growth prospects provide space for the policy to remain focussed on inflation, said the RBI Governor.

He said the global economy remained resilient and global trade is expected to grow faster in 2024.

“Services inflation remains sticky in advanced economies. Equity markets have gained while bond yields and dollar remained volatile,” said Mr Das.

He also said that India’s liquidity situation improved in March while the average borrowings under the marginal standing facility, which allows banks to borrow funds, moderated.

Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister and senior AAP leader Manish Sisodia has written a fresh letter from jail, saying that he will walk out of jail soon.

In the letter addressed to the people of his assembly segment, the jailed leader said his party is fighting for good education and schools, “just like everyone had fought for Independence”.

“The dream of independence came true only after the British dictatorship. Similarly, one day every child will get proper and good education,” said the AAP leader.

“Will meet outside soon,” he said in his letter from Tihar Jail.

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Mr Sisodia, who has been in jail in the liquor policy case for over 13 months, said even the Britishers were arrogant of their power and had imprisoned Mahatma Gandhi and Nelson Mandela.

“The British too were very arrogant of their power and used to imprison anyone they wanted on false charges. Even they used to think these jail walls will break those fighting for freedom,” read the letter dated March 15.

Stating that Gandhi and Mandela are his inspiration, Mr Sisodia told the residents of his constituency, “You all are my strength. My love for you people increased further by being in jail.”

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Mr Sisodia is among the first few AAP leaders arrested in the alleged liquor policy scam. The chief of his party, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, and BRS leader K Kavitha were arrested in the case last month, just weeks ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Another AAP leader, Sanjay Singh, who was also arrested in the case, was released earlier this week.