Jharkhand ED raids: Enforcement Directorate raided more than 20 places in Jharkhand, including Ranchi and Dhanbad, on Friday morning in connection with MNREGA fund scam and money laundering. It also includes several places related to Pooja Singhal, Secretary, Jharkhand Mines and Geology Department. 19.31 crore cash has been recovered so far in the raids. According to the ED official, simultaneous operations were carried out at several places including Ranchi, Dhanbad, Khanti, Mumbai, Delhi and Jaipur on Friday. Meanwhile, cash worth Rs 19.31 crore has been recovered from several places related to Pooja Singhal. Officials said at least Rs. 17 crore in cash was recovered from the premises of a chartered accountant attached to Pooja Singhal.

On the other hand, Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren termed the raid as a politically motivated operation. He says the BJP only wants to divert attention from important issues.

These are just threats. The BJP is trying to deviate from important issues. The state will continue to demand the necessary things from the center. They have lost their status as the largest party in the state and are reacting to it: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren on ED’s raid on IAS Pooja Singhal premises https://t.co/c8yhWHCn1y pic.twitter.com/Nobij7lpj3

– ANI (ANI) May 6, 2022

Where did the raid take place?

The ED team has raided the hideouts of about 25 people, including IAS Pooja Singhal, Secretary, Department of Mines and Geology and Managing Director, Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation Limited (JSMDC). These include the Plus Hospital in Ranchi, Panchoti Residency, Kanke Road, Chandni Chowk and Dhanbad’s Dhansar and Saraidhila and Khanti areas along with Hariom Tower.

What’s the problem

According to the information received, this case is related to embezzlement of more than Rs. 18 crore from MGNREGA fund and money laundering of this amount between 2008 and 2011. In this case, the ED had first registered a case against Ram Vinod Prasad Sinha, a junior engineer from Jharkhand, under the PMLA. The ED then gathered evidence and arrested Ram Vinod Sinha from the North 24 Parganas district of West Bengal on June 17, 2020. During the interrogation, Sinha had admitted that the commission money had reached the DC office. Let me tell you that Pooja Singhal, a 2000 batch IAS officer, was the DC of Khanti during the scam.