Jharkhand authorities suspends mining secretary Pooja Singhal publish her arrest

By Express News Service

RANCHI: A day after Enforcement Directorate arrested mining secretary Pooja Singhal; Jharkhand Government suspended her on Thursday from rapid impact. The ED, after an interrogation for over 15 hours, arrested Singhal in cash laundering case linked to alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds and different costs.

Meanwhile, after being taken in remand on Thursday, she was once more taken to zonal ED headquarter in Ranchi for interrogation.

The 2000-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer was taken into ED custody underneath the related sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Sources within the State Government additionally knowledgeable that the method of her suspension has already been began and a choice could also be taken on this regard throughout the subsequent few hours.

Singhal was arrested on second day of the questioning being achieved by the ED officers. She was formally arrested round 4.30 PM on Wednesday, an hour after her husband Abhishek Jha arrived there after being summoned by ED officers.

According to the knowledge supplied to the courtroom by ED earlier after arresting of CA Suman Kumar, Rs 1.43 crore greater than the recognized sources of her revenue had been recovered from the financial institution accounts of Pooja Singhal whereas she was Deputy Commissioner in Khunti, Palamu and Chatra. 

The ED additionally claimed that Singhal bought as many as 13 insurance coverage insurance policies by paying a premium of Rs 80.81 lakh and closed them earlier than completion of their tenure and received Rs 84.64 lakh towards it.

The ED additionally knowledgeable that Singhal transferred Rs 16.57 lakh to the three financial institution accounts associated to CA Suman Kumar.  The ED is claimed to have gathered adequate main proof to recommend that she is in shut reference to CA Sunman Kumar and had monetary transactions with him.

Notably, the ED on Friday performed raids at a number of areas, together with that of Pooja Singhal, in reference to a cash laundering case linked to alleged embezzlement of over Rs 18 crore MGNREGA funds in Khunti district throughout 2008-2011. The raids had been performed at a complete of 18 areas together with Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, NCR in addition to Ranchi, Khunti and Dhanbad in Jharkhand.

Singhal, as Chatra Deputy Commissioner, has been accused of paying Rs 6 crore prematurely to the 2 NGOs – Welfare Point and Prerna Niketan for musli farming, which, truly was by no means achieved. In addition to that, whereas being Deputy Commissioner in Palamu, she was charged of transferring 83 acres of forest land to a personal firm for mining, a matter which is expounded to Kathautia Coal Mines.