ED arrests Jharkhand mining secretary Pooja Singhal in money laundering case

ED arrested Pooja Singhal after questioning her for two days in a money laundering case linked to alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds in Jharkhand’s Khunti district.

Updated on: May 11, 2022, 18:46:31 IST

By Vishal Kant

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RANCHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested Jharkhand mining secretary Pooja Singhal after questioning her for two days in a money laundering case linked to alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds in the state’s Khunti district, officials said.

Jharkhand mining secretary Pooja Singhal is a 2000 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer. ED officials said she will be produced before a designated court in Ranchi soon to hear the money laundering case against her. (ANI)

The 2000 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer will be produced before the designated court to hear money laundering cases in Ranchi soon, a senior official associated with ED probe said.

The federal agency questioned Singhal and her husband, who runs a super speciality hospital, for around nine hours on Tuesday. Her husband has been called for questioning again on Wednesday.

ED conducted raids in four states on May 6. The federal agency allegedly seized ₹17.49 crore from the residence of Suman Kumar, a chartered accountant associated with Singhal and her husband.

The ED investigation pertains to a money laundering case in which former junior engineer in the Jharkhand government, Ram Binod Prasad Sinha, was arrested by the agency on June 17, 2020 from West Bengal after he was booked by the agency under the PMLA in 2012 after studying the FIRs of the state vigilance bureau against him.

Sinha was booked by the vigilance bureau under criminal sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) pertaining to cheating and corruption for allegedly defrauding public money and investing it in his own name as well as in the name of his family members while working as junior engineer from April 1, 2008 to March 21, 2011.

The said money was earmarked for the execution of government projects under MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) in Khunti district, the agency earlier said. Pooja Singhal also served deputy commisioner of Khunti district between 2009 and 2010.

According to news agency PTI, Ram Binod Prasad Sinha told ED that “he paid 5% commission (out of the defrauded funds) to the district administration.”

During the period, ED alleged, charges of “irregularities” were made against Singhal while she served as the deputy commissioner or district magistrate of Chatra, Khunti and Palamu between 2007 and 2013.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vishal Kant
Stationed in Ranchi, Vishal is heading the Jharkhand Bureau of Hindustan Times since November 2017. Besides leading the reporting team, Vishal tracks and writes on developments related to the state politics, economy and policy matters in Jharkhand. Prior to his current assignment, Vishal used to work in New Delhi after graduating from the University of Delhi. Vishal joined HT in the rank of Assistant Editor in August 2015 and was part of the Delhi Metro Bureau, covering a host of issues in the City-state including politics, policy---especially those related to urban traffic & transport infrastructure and railways. A native of Palamu district in Jharkhand, Vishal started his two-decade long career in the mainstream media in 2006. During this period, he has has worked in different capacity with a number of national media houses including the Financial Chronicle, India Today, Deccan Herald and The Hindu, before moving to the Hindustan Times. He holds the experience of having worked in three major mediums of mass communication--Print, Electronic and Digital. He is a proud father of two daughters.Read More

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