ED summons Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam in money laundering case

RANCHI: In a major development in the Jharkhand cash haul case, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Rural Development Minister Alamgir Alam asking him to appear before its zonal office on May 14.

Earlier on Wednesday, ED sleuths entered the Rural Development Ministry office in Ranchi and conducted an extensive search. Notably, this is the first time that an ED team has entered a government ministry.

During the search, ED recovered Rs 1.75 lakh new currency notes and Rs 28,000 old 500 notes from the official chamber of Minister Alamgir Alam’s Private Secretary Sanjeev Lal.

The federal agency had last week arrested Sanjiv Lal and his domestic help following the seizure of more than Rs 32 crore cash from a flat linked to them. Sanjeev Lal, who is currently under ED custody, was also taken along during the search.

The ED heat is also likely to reach to other top officials of Jharkhand’s Rural Development Department as the investigation agency in its remand note submitted to the court has alleged that “officials from top to bottom” of the Department were involved in the money laundering nexus.

“During the investigation, the role of some IAS officers and politicians has emerged as highly suspicious,” revealed sources in ED. It was also revealed that Rs 35.23 crore commissions were generated in merely three months time. According to sources, the money went to influential people under the supervision of Sanjeev Lal. Money was collected in connivance with the syndicate of engineers even for managing tenders and collecting commission.

A fixed percentage was given to high-ranking people in the government, after collecting it from the contractors.

On February 22, 2023, ED raided a total of 24 locations related to Rural Development Department Chief Engineer Virendra Ram. During the raid assets worth Rs 100 crore were recovered. Jewelry worth Rs 1.50 crore and cash amount of nearly Rs 30 lakh were also recovered during the raid.