ED ARRESTS IAS POOJA SINGHAL IN MONEY LAUNDERING CASE

The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday arrested Jharkhand mining secretary Pooja Singhal in connection with a money laundering probe linked to the alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds and other charges.

A special PMLA court in Ranchi sent Singhal to five-day remand of the Enforcement Directorate (ED).

Earlier on Wednesday, Singhal was summoned for questioning. She was questioned for around nine hours on Monday also. This is the second arrest in this case as CA Suman Kumar is already arrested by ED on May 7. ED recovered Rs 17.51 crore from the premises of Kumar and Rs 1.8 crore from Pulse Hospital. Singhal was arrested after ED got credible evidence of her connection with CA Kumar.

Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren said: “All possible legal actions will be taken by the state government on this issue.”

The ED today conducted a raid on Jharkhand businessman Avijit Sen’s office and house in Kolkata in this connection as some bureaucrats of West Bengal are also involved in the case. The ED sized some important documents from the office.

The ED officials also raided four places in Kolkata. Sen is the owner of Abhijita Construction whose head office is in Ranchi, Jharkhand.

According to sources, in the guise of construction and interior design business, Sen used to do money laundering of some bureaucrats of West Bengal. Singhal also used Sen for money laundering. Many more IAS and IPS are also involved as per ED sources.

Earlier this month, ED conducted raids at Pulse Hospital, Ranchi. The hospital is owned by Abhishek Jha, husband of Singhal.

Senior advocate of Jharkhand High Court, Rajeev Kumar, submitted a complaint against her to the ED in February 2022.

Earlier on Sunday, the ED interrogated Abhishek Jha, husband of Pooja Singhal, IAS, in connection with searches at Pulse Hospital.

Pooja Singhal is the secretary of the Department of Mines and Geology and the Managing Director of Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation Limited (JSMDC).