Sanjeet Kumar, Md. Irshad, and Tapas Ghosh were arrested on May 9 under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), as confirmed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). This development follows the agency’s previous arrests in connection with a money laundering case involving former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
According to the ED, the recent arrests are related to forgery, tampering, and fabrication of land records, affecting lands designated as non-saleable under the Chota Nagpur Tenancy Act (CNT Act), which aims to safeguard the land rights of tribal and marginalized communities. Both Kumar and Ghosh worked as contractual employees at the Registrar of Assurances in Kolkata.
In total, 25 individuals have been arrested, including Soren, IAS officer Chhavi Ranjan, and former revenue department sub-inspector Bhanu Pratap Prasad. The investigation revealed that some lands, acquired through falsification and forgery by the accused, are allegedly under the illegal possession of Hemant Soren.
The ED has attached land parcels valued at Rs266 crore, including several plots that Soren allegedly acquired illegally in Ranchi. To date, three charge sheets have been filed following 64 searches and surveys conducted by the agency.
The ED claims a land mafia is active in Jharkhand, tampering with land records in Ranchi and Kolkata. Original land ownership documents are either altered or hidden to facilitate unlawful acquisition and sale of properties.
Soren, a senior leader of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), vehemently denies the land grabbing accusations, claiming that the money laundering case is a political vendetta orchestrated by the BJP-led central government. He was arrested on January 31 after resigning as Jharkhand’s chief minister, just minutes earlier.
In a related development, the Supreme Court recently disposed of a plea by Soren, urging the high court to expedite its ruling on his petition challenging the ED’s arrest.
