Jharkhand Minister Alamgir Alam was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for more than nine hours on Tuesday in connection with a money laundering case involving the improper handling of bids by the Rural Development Department. Alam arrived to the ED zonal office at 11 a.m. and left at around 8:30 p.m.
Alam was questioned on his involvement in the multi-crore tender fraud, according to ED sources. Along with the minister, Sanjiv Lal’s wife Rita Lal, his private secretary, was also called by the ED for interrogation. The agency has previously interrogated Sanjiv Lal and his aide Jehangir Alam in connection with the seizure of Rs 35.23 crore from their premises.
Sanjiv Lal allegedly mentioned a number of politicians and officials during questioning, on whose behalf he obtained commissions from engineers and contractors.
The ED agents raided the papers at the Rural Development Ministry office in Ranchi earlier on Wednesday, after they had taken cash worth Rs 35.23 crore from Jahangir Alam’s house. In the course of the search, the Enforcement Department found 2.8,000 old 500 rupee notes and 1.75 lakh new currency notes in Minister Alamgir Alam’s private secretary Sanjeev Lal’s official room. Along with the ED detectives, Sanjeev Lal, who is now in their custody, was also taken.
Following the cash grab, Sanjeev Lal and Jahangir Alam were both taken into custody under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Lal’s arrest was followed by a suspension.
Now that the investigating agency has claimed in its remand note filed to the court that “officials from top to bottom” of the Department were participating in a money laundering network, the ED heat is likely to extend to the top officials of Jharkhand’s Rural Development Department.
The sources in the ED said, “During the investigation, the role of some IAS officers and politicians has emerged as highly suspicious.”
Furthermore disclosed was the fact that in only three months, commissions of Rs 35.23 crore were earned. Investigations also revealed that Sanjeev Lal was in charge of commission collections, which were given to powerful individuals. Connivance with the engineering syndicate allowed money to be collected even for commission collection and tender management.
Senior government officials were reportedly given a certain share of the commissions that were collected.
Notably, Chief Engineer Virendra Ram of the Rural Development Department’s 24 sites was raided by the ED on February 22, 2023. Assets valued around Rs 100 crore were retrieved during the search. Additionally, around Rs 30 lakh in cash and jewelry valued at Rs 1.50 crore were found.