According to the ED’s complaint, the agency issued 10 summonses to Hemant Soren in connection with a money-laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. He allegedly appeared before the ED only twice, on 20 January and 31 January 2024, and skipped the summonses on eight occasions.

The ED had issued the first summons to Soren in August 2023, directing him to appear on 14 August. Thereafter, nine more summonses were sent, but he appeared only twice.

After skipping the eighth summons in the land-scam case, Soren for the first time agreed to join the probe, following which he was questioned at his Ranchi residence on 20 January for more than seven hours.

On 27 January, the ED sent another letter to the Chief Minister, asking him to decide the time and place for questioning on either 29 or 31 January. The letter stated that if he did not specify a time and place, ED officials would visit his official residence for questioning.

After receiving the tenth summons, Soren once again agreed to appear, and he was questioned for the second time on 31 January.

The ED finally arrested Soren on 31 January 2024 after he allegedly “duped” ED officials and disappeared from his Delhi residence on 29 January. He remained traceless for about 40 hours before suddenly appearing in Ranchi on the day of his arrest.