Suspended Jharkhand mining secretary Pooja Singhal sent to 4-day ED remand

Pooja Singhal, who was serving as the Jharkhand mining secretary before being suspended, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on May 12 in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds in Khunti district of the state.

Published on: May 16, 2022, 18:35:09 IST

By HT News Desk | Written by Aryan Prakash

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A local court in Jharkhand on Monday sent suspended IAS officer Pooja Singhal and her chartered account Suman Kumar to four-day Enforcement Directorate remand. The ED custody begins from Tuesday.

“The data has been collected from digital devices & they'll be confronted with it. So, they've been taken under ED remand,” BMP Singh, the probe agency's lawyer said.

Singhal, who was serving as the Jharkhand mining secretary, was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on May 12 in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds in Khunti district of the state.

The central probe agency is investigating a money laundering case in which a former junior engineer of the Jharkhand government was arrested in 2020. Ram Binod Prasad Sinha was booked under Prevention of Money Laundering Act based on FIRs registered by the state vigilance department. The money earmarked for the completion of government projects under MGNREGA in Khunti district was allegedly embezzled.

Jharkhand government had suspended IAS officer Pooja Singhal on May 12.

Pooja Singhal had served as the deputy commissioner of the district between 2009 and 2010. According to news agency PTI, Sinha said that he paid five per cent commission out of the defrauded funds to the Khunti administration.

The Jharkhand IAS officer was arrested following raids by the ED in several locations across four states. During the operation, the agency reportedly seized over ₹17 crore from the residence of Singhal's chartered accountant Suman Kumar.

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