Income Tax raids residence of CM Soren's alleged aide ahead of polls

A raid is underway at residence of Sunil Srivastava

Ranchi: The Income Tax department is conducting raids at the residence of Sunil Srivastava, allegedly a close aide and personal secretary of Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren, said sources on Saturday.

Different locations in raids 
According to the sources, nine different locations are covered in the raids in Ranchi and Jamshedpur.More details are awaited.

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Notably, this comes days ahead of the assembly elections in Jharkhand. CM Soren-led Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM), in alliance with Congress, RJD and left parties is facing major competition from the Bharatiya Janata Party-led NDA alliance in the state.

Alleged land scam case
Earlier, Jharkhand High Court in June had granted bail to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren in the alleged land scam case. Hemant Soren was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in January on charges related to an alleged land scam and money laundering.

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The 81-member Jharkhand Assembly will go to polls in two phases on November 13 and 20, with vote counting scheduled for November 23. (with Agency inputs)