India: Former Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren reacts after arrest, says 'it's a break, won't accept defeat'

Hours after being arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in Ranchi on Wednesday (Jan 31), Jharkhand's former chief minister Hemant Soren said that he will not accept defeat.

Soren was apprehended by the ED after he demitted the Jharkhand chief minister's office.

Taking to X, Soren in his first reaction after the arrest wrote, “It's a break. life is a great battle. I have fought every moment, I will fight every moment. But I will not beg for compromise.”

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“I will not give up in vain… I will not accept defeat… Jai Jharkhand!” he said.

The Enforcement Directorate apprehended Hemant Soren moments after he resigned from the position of Jharkhand chief minister.

After this, the 48-year-old politician was subsequently shifted to the probe agency's office. He was arrested in connection with the investigation into an alleged land scam in the state.

The arrest took place 48 hours after the federal agency meticulously carried out the plan for apprehending the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) leader in Delhi.

Even though teams were deployed at his Delhi residence as well as the Indira Gandhi International Airport in the national capital, he was reported to have successfully travelled to reach Ranchi via road on Tuesday (Feb 30).

“We have evidence that Hemant Soren had grabbed some parcel of land under probe in Jharkhand, which was illegally obtained by others through falsified documents,” an officer of the Enforcement Directorate was quoted as saying by Indian media organisations.

Later, a pre-recorded video of Soren before his arrest was released on social media. In the video, he was heard saying, "Most probably ED will arrest me today, but I am not worried as I am Shibu Soren's son...After a full day of questioning, they decided to arrest me in matters which are not related to me. No evidence has been found by them yet. They also tried to spoil my image by conducting raids at my Delhi residence. We have to fight a new fight now against those who commit atrocities against the poor, Adivasis, Dalit and the innocent."

High voltage drama ensues outside Raj Bhavan before Soren's arrest

High voltage drama ensued outside the Raj Bhavan in Ranchi on Wednesday evening (Feb 31)before Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged money laundering case.

Watch:India: Hemant Soren arrested by ED in land scam money laundering probe

The arrest memo was signed by Soren only after he met Governor CP Radhakrishnan and submitted his resignation. After he stepped down, it was announced that ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha's leader State Minister Champai Soren would be the next chief minister.

"The former chief minister insisted on meeting the Governor before signing his arrest memo," said a senior official in charge of the investigation while speaking to NDTV.

He added that Soren wished to parade his MLAs before the Governor.

"Three buses full of MLAs had reached the Raj Bhavan. But not all were allowed inside. He submitted a list of MLAs and only then he relented," the official said.

(With inputs from agencies)