Ranchi: ED attaches properties  worth Rs 82 crore of suspended IAS officer

The  immovable properties worth Rs 82.77 crore of Pooja Singhal, a suspended IAS officer have been provisionally attached by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi.

The IAS officer was arrested in connection with some other dubious financial transactions and a suspected theft of MGNREGA funding in the Khunti region. Between February 16, 2009, and July 19, 2010, Singhal served as the deputy commissioner (DC) of Khunti.

The ED said the properties include one super speciality hospital ‘Pulse Super Speciality Hospital’, a diagnostics centre ‘Pulse Diagnostic and Imagining Centre’ and two land parcels situated in Ranchi.

The ED had initiated a money-laundering investigation against Singhal on the basis of multiple FIRs registered by the Jharkhand Police and Vigilance Bureau Jharkhand, the probe agency said.

“Investigation revealed that Proceeds of Crime generated from the MNREGA Scam in form of commission was deposited in different bank accounts belonging to Pooja Singhal & her relatives. The said POC was mixed and layered with the other unaccounted money generated by Pooja Singhal, by misusing her official position.,” the ED said in a statement.

“Initially POC was generated from MNREGA scam only, which was subsequently intermixed with other unaccounted fund generated from the corrupt practices of Pooja Singhal and these funds were deployed as capital/investment & further funds were generated from these funds, both as legitimate profit as well as by further infusion of POC. By this modus-operandai, Pooja Singhal amassed huge wealth disproportionate to her known source of income and source of funds invested in these immovable properties were primarily from the unaccounted cash profits generated from these POC and therefore termed as Proceeds of Crime,” the agency added.

Singhal and the other two arrested individuals in this case are all currently being held in judicial custody. The special PMLA Court has taken note of all three prosecution complaints that have been filed in this case.