On Wednesday, the Jharkhand government led by Chief Minister Hemant Soren issued instructions to officials, making it mandatory for them not to share any documents with the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), or the Income Tax department unless they receive approval from higher authorities.
This directive comes in the backdrop of recent summons issued to Chief Minister Hemant Soren in connection with several money laundering cases. Central agencies have been actively investigating multiple alleged cases of illicit financial transactions in Jharkhand, implicating several high-ranking state officials.
A circulated letter among state officials, accessed by India Today TV, highlighted that many cases have come to the government's notice where information available to the state's competent authority is sought directly by investigating agencies through summons or notices without conducting any preliminary inquiry.
The letter underscored the importance of establishing a well-defined process for information sharing and suggested that the anti-corruption bureau, under the Cabinet Secretariat and monitoring department, should serve as the nodal department for liaising with central investigating agencies.
Officials have been instructed to inform the nodal department first if they receive requests from central agencies to submit documents or undergo questioning. The decision to formulate a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) was made during a cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Soren, aiming to address concerns about sharing documents with external probe agencies without informing relevant state officials.
Cabinet Secretary Vandana Dadel, after the meeting, announced that the cabinet secretariat and vigilance department would act as nodal departments to handle such matters and legal actions. The nodal department will seek legal advice, and based on that advice, officials will provide necessary cooperation to the probe agency, according to Dadel.
In the context of the ongoing investigation, Chief Minister Hemant Soren had skipped the seventh summons by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case, which involves an alleged racket of illegal change of ownership of land by the mafia in Jharkhand. Soren has accused the Union Government of utilizing central agencies to destabilize his democratically elected government.
