Office-of-profit: EC hears plaint against Basant

Ranchi: The Election Commission on Monday evening heard the office-of-profit case against Basant Sonre, the younger brother of chief minister Hemant Soren.
While Basant and his advocates did not respond to TOI’s calls and messages, sources in the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) said the EC heard arguments on the maintainability of the case. “The next date of the hearing is yet to be issued,” a senior JMM office bearer said.
Notably, the EC is hearing a separate office-of-profit case against Basant, who is the incumbent MLA from Dumka. The case was initiated based on a complaint by the state unit of BJP earlier this year, which sent a written complaint to governor Ramesh Bais, had alleged that Basant had concealed information that he was a director of a mining company in his election affidavit. Basant’s elder brother and chief minister Hemant Soren is facing another office-of-profit case by the EC, which had reportedly sent its recommendations to the Jharkhand governor.