RANCHI: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has requested the Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court to ensure that senior IAS officer and former Mines Secretary Pooja Singhal is not posted in any department under the state government.
The ED claimed that if Singhal is given responsibility of any department in the state government, she may misuse her position and influence the ongoing case against her.
Earlier on January 29, the PMLA court had sought approval from the Jharkhand government to prosecute her in a money laundering case linked to the siphoning of MNREGA funds during her tenure as Deputy Commissioner in Khunti.
A 2000-batch IAS officer, Singhal was arrested for allegedly embezzling crores of MGNREGA funds in Khunti.
Singhal, after remaining in jail for 28 months, was granted bail by a Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court in Ranchi on December 7, 2024.
Following her release on bail, the state government revoked her suspension and reinstated her with effect from December 7, 2024. She has since rejoined the Department of Personnel and is awaiting a new posting.
However, the petition issued by the ED raises suspicion over the reinstatement of Singhal in the same department.
Meanwhile, a reply from Pooja Singhal has already been filed in this regard and the court will be hearing the case next on February 14.
Before her arrest, ED had conducted raids at several locations in connection with a money laundering case linked to alleged embezzlement of over Rs 18 crore MGNREGA funds in Khunti district during 2008-2011.
The raids were conducted at a total of 18 locations including Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, NCR as well as Ranchi, Khunti and Dhanbad in Jharkhand.
Singhal, as Chatra Deputy Commissioner, had also been accused of paying Rs 6 crore in advance to the two NGOs – Welfare Point and Prerna Niketan – for musli farming, which, actually was never done.
In addition to that, while being Deputy Commissioner in Palamu, she was charged of transferring 83 acres of forest land to a private company for mining, a matter which is related to Kathautia Coal Mines.
According ED, Rs 1.43 crore more than the known sources of her income were recovered from the bank accounts of Pooja Singhal while she was Deputy Commissioner in Khunti, Palamu and Chatra.
The ED also claimed that Singhal purchased as many as 13 insurance policies by paying a premium of Rs 80.81 lakh and closed them before the completion of their tenure and got Rs 84.64 lakh against it.
The ED also informed that Singhal transferred Rs 16.57 lakh to the three bank accounts related to CA Suman Kumar.
The ED is said to have gathered sufficient primary evidence to suggest that she is in close connection with CA Sunman Kumar and had financial transactions with him.
