Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday evening arrested chartered accountant Suman Singh under provisions of money laundering. He was produced before a special PMLA court in Ranchi after which he was forwarded to Birsa Munda Central jail. The ED will seek his remand for interrogation as he is a crucial link against senior Jharkhand cadre IAS Pooja Singhal, who is facing the ED probe in Khunti district MGNREGA scam. She is the secretary of the mining and industry department.
A senior official of the ED said that Suman Singh manages accounts and entries of Pooja Singhal and her husband Abhishek Jha. During the raid, ED seized Rs 19.31 Crore from his residence on Friday.
Suman Singh is said to have confessed about money in his possession besides investments and other details. On Friday night the ED questioned him and his brother Pawan Singh. Both of them were left after questioning. But, on Saturday morning, ED called Suman Singh for questioning and was confronted with questions and documents that he was unable to reply to and explain.
Similarly, Pooja Singhal was questioned on Friday night. Sources said that she was questioned on Saturday. But the ED denied it. Now the ED is set to summon Pooja Singhal and her husband. The ED is also investigating Kolkata-based Prachi Agrawal and Raunaq Agrawal. They are suspected to have been involved in accommodating huge cash through shell companies.
The ED on Friday carried out raids against Pooja Singhal in a decade-old case of scam in the MGNREGA scheme in Khunti district where she was the DC during the said period. The ED seized Rs 19.31 Crore cash from the residence of chartered accountant Raids carried out over 20 places in five states namely Ranchi (Jharkhand), Kolkata (Bengal), Jaipur (Rajasthan), Muzaffarpur (Bihar), and Delhi. Raids were carried out against her as well as her husband Abhishek Jha who is the managing director of Pulse Super specialty hospital in Ranchi. Raids were also carried out against her brother Sidharth Singhal who was among the directors of Pulse Super specialty hospital. In addition to them, ED officials raided the premises of her in-laws, parents and entry operators in Kolkata. Muzaffarpur’s residence of Abhishek Jha was raided. In Ranchi, her house was searched besides the hospital and the residence of her brother at Lalpur. In Delhi also the premise of her brother was raided.