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MNREGA scam: ED files chargesheet against suspended IAS officer
The officer was arrested by the probe agency on May 11, six days after raids were conducted across several locations including the official residence of Pooja Singhal, her relatives and associates
The enforcement directorate on Tuesday filed a chargesheet against jailed IAS officer Pooja Singhal who was suspended following arrest 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 Feb 2009 and 2010.
The federal agency filed the chargesheet, which according to sources runs around 5000 pages, before Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court, within 60 days of the raids conducted against the former Mines & Industry secretary of Jharkhand on May 6.
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“We can just confirm that chargesheet has been filed. It was brought to the court sealed in two boxes. We can’t reveal the details beyond that at this stage,” said a lawyer of the ED, requesting anonymity.
The officer was arrested by the probe agency on May 11, six days after raids were conducted across several locations including the official residence of Singhal, her relatives and associates. She was sent into judicial custody on June 8 and has been languishing in Ranchi hail ever since. She has applied for bail before the PMLA court, which is likely to come for hearing on July 12.
Singhal’s chartered accountant Suman Kumar was arrested on May 7, a day after the federal agency conducted raids at multiple locations across four states. The agency had recovered ₹19.31 crore cash including ₹17.49 crore from Suman’s residence. Suman was sent into judicial custody on May 20 and is still in jail.
The federal probe agency has conducted several raids and questioned several individuals including district mining officers, real estate developers and alleged middlemen related to the case.
