Police personnel outside the residence of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren ahead of the arrival of Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials for questioning in connection with a money laundering case, in Ranchi on Jan. 31, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI
Prohibitory orders were clamped in key areas of Ranchi, and a three-member team has been formed to oversee the law and order situation in the Jharkhand capital, ahead of Chief Minister Hemant Soren’s questioning by the ED, officials said.
Officers of the Enforcement Directorate are scheduled to visit the chief minister’s residence around 1 p.m. to record Mr. Soren’s statement in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam.
Ending the suspense over his whereabouts and intense political drama, Mr. Soren reached his official residence on January 30 and chaired a meeting of his alliance MLAs.
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According to an official release, the prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC are effective from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. within a radius of 100 metres at key locations, including the chief minister House, Raj Bhavan and the ED office at Doranda, As part of the restrictions, demonstrations, rallies or meetings cannot be held in and around these areas.
The special team is led by Finance Secretary Prashant Kumar. It also features Mines Director Arva Rajkamal and Special Branch IG Prabhat Kumar, it said.
Following protests that took place across the state on January 20 during Mr. Soren’s questioning by sleuths of the ED at his residence here, the federal agency wrote to the Department of Home, Prison and Disaster Management to ensure law and order during the second round of quizzing on January 31, the release said.
As part of the security measures, barricades have been put up outside the ED office and the chief minister’s residence, and more than 1,000 security personnel were deployed at strategic locations, a senior police officer said.
DGP Ajay Kumar Singh had said that elaborate security arrangements have been made across Jharkhand to maintain law and order, including deployment of an additional 7,000 policemen.