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Jharkhand mining secretary Pooja Singhal arrested in PMLA case
The 2000 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer was produced before the court of PK Sharma, the designated court to hear money laundering cases in Ranchi.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday arrested Jharkhand mining secretary Pooja Singhal in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds in Khunti district of the state and other charges, officials familiar with the case said.
The 2000 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer was produced before the court of PK Sharma, the designated court to hear money laundering cases in Ranchi.
“We pleaded before the court for 12 days remand but the court has granted five days remand. Today she would remain in jail. The agency would begin further questioning from the officer Thursday morning,” Singh, special public prosecutor, the agency said.
The federal agency had questioned Singhal and her husband Abhishek Jha, whose super speciality hospital Pulse is also under the scanner in the case, for around nine hours on Tuesday. The duo were called for questioning again on Wednesday.
The agency had conducted raids at various locations across four states in connection with the case on May 6 this year and recovered ₹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 a 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 based on FIRs of the state vigilance bureau against him.
Sinha was booked by the state 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.
As per the agency, the said money was earmarked for the execution of government projects under MNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) in Khunti district. Pooja Singhal also served as deputy commisioner of Khunti district between 2009 and 2010.
The ED alleged that during the period charges of “irregularities” were made against Singhal while she served as the deputy commissioner of Chatra, Khunti and Palamu between 2007 and 2013.
In the remand note submitted before the PMLA court in Ranchi last week while seeking custody of CA Kumar, the ED claimed that Singhal received cash to the tune of ₹1.43 crore over and above her salary in her accounts, during the period she faced charges of irregularities while being posted as the DM of various districts in the state.
The federal agency also told the court that the IAS officer allegedly transferred ₹16.57 lakh from her “personal account” to those controlled or owned by her CA Kumar.
