Enforcement Directorate (ED) officials on Wednesday, recovered stacks of Rs 500 notes hidden in the office chamber of Sanjeev Kumar Lal, former Personal Secretary to Jharkhand Minister Alamgir Alam. This revelation came to light during a thorough search conducted at the Jharkhand Secretariat premises at Project Building.
As the search unfolded at the Project Building Secretariat, ED Deputy Director Kapil Raj oversaw the operation, which was still going on at the time of filing of this report.
Lal, along with his household assistant Jahangir Alam, was arrested by ED on May 7 following the recovery of cash totalling more than Rs 35 crore from his residence during an extensive search initiated by the investigative agency.
Following their detention, ED commenced the interrogation of Lal and Jahangir on Wednesday. It's believed that a tip-off prompted the ED team to delve into Lal's chamber at the Secretariat, where the substantial cash stash was found.
ED has received intelligence indicating that funds amassed through corrupt practices and kickbacks from contracts within the Jharkhand Government's Rural Development Department were funneling into Lal's possession. Allegedly, he collected these illicit funds from departmental engineers and various private individuals.
In its petition for remand, ED informed the court of a network spanning from lower-level officials to high-ranking authorities within the Rural Development Department, all allegedly complicit in corruption. The agency asserted that crores of rupees made their way to these officials and leaders, with initial investigations suggesting that large sums were transferred to them in cash.
ED in its May 6 raids had seized over Rs 35 crore cash from the premises of Sanjeev Lal and Jahangir Alam. On Wednesday the ED sleuths reached the Rural Development Department’s office with Sanjeev Lal. During the search, ED has recovered money from a drawer in the chamber. Other employees of the office are not allowed to go out. Interrogation is being done in a closed room.
ED has found in its investigation that a total of 3.2 per cent was collected in departmental contracts. In this, 1.5 per cent commission went to big politicians and senior officers of the department as cut money. It has come to light in the investigation that the collection of commission 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. After this, the fixed percentage was sent to the high ranking people of the government. In the investigation, the role of some IAS officers and politicians has emerged as very suspicious.
According to the facts that came out in the ED investigation, the Rs 31.20 crore recovered from Jahangir's flat in Gadikhan was deposited in just three months. The flat was also purchased a few months ago in Jahangir's name only so that the money could be kept here. The Rs 2.93 crore recovered from Munna Singh's place was also to be shifted here, but before that the ED team conducted a raid and recovered the money.