A local court here on Wednesday sent suspended IAS officer Pooja Singhal to judicial custody till June 8, officials said.
Singhal, who was mines and industry secretary in Jharkhand government, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on May 11 in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds in Khunti district where she had served as deputy commissioner between February 2009 and 2010. She has been in ED custody since then.
On Wednesday, the federal agency produced Singhal before PK Sharma, special judge, Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court, which sent her into judicial custody.
“The ED prayed for her judicial custody, She will be produced via video conferencing on June 8. This is a case of larger conspiracy, and new facts are unfolding every day. So we prayed before the court that jail superintendent should be instructed to give us permission to interrogate her as and when needed. The court asked us to file a separate petition when something new comes and then the court will consider,” said BMP Singh, special public prosecutor, ED.
On May 20, Singhal’s chartered accountant Suman Kumar was sent into judicial custody after being in ED custody for 14 days. He was arrested on May 7, a day after the federal agency conducted raids at multiple locations across four states, including official residence of Pooja Singhal. The agency had recovered ₹17.49 crore cash from Kumar’s residence.
Meanwhile, the ED on Tuesday conducted raids at six locations in Jharkhand’s Ranchi and one place in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur in the same case.
{{/usCountry}}Meanwhile, the ED on Tuesday conducted raids at six locations in Jharkhand’s Ranchi and one place in Bihar’s Muzaffarpur in the same case.
{{/usCountry}}As per sources, raids were carried out at the premises of Ranchi-based real estate developers and businessmen, allegedly with close links to state government officials.