Days after the Election Commission served a showcause notice on Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren as to why he should not be disqualified for leasing a mine to himself, the Enforcement Directorate Friday conducted searches at a dozen premises in the state and neighbouring Bengal and Bihar and seized Rs 19.3 crore in cash.
The agency is probing a money laundering case related to irregularities in MGNREGA funds disbursement and alleged money laundering in allocation of mining lease in the state. The searches included the premises of senior IAS officer and Jharkhand mining secretary Pooja Singhal. The ED officials also re- covered a huge amount of cash from a CA suspected to be close to Singhal and others in the Jharkhand government.
Singhal is under scanner for her alleged role in irregularities of MGNREGA funds while she was posted as Khunti deputy commissioner. The searches could also be related to an ongoing money laundering probe against state’s mining officials, including the one in which junior engineer RBP Sinha was arrested in 2020 and over Rs 4 crore worth of assets attached.
Hours after the ED conducted searches on multiple properties in Jharkhand, Bihar and Bengal, BJP’s Godda MP Nishikant Dubey tweeted that “CM (Hemant Soren) himself being the mines minister allocated illegal mining leases to his relatives, MLAs and stooges. Agencies received information regarding corruption and took action”.
Last Monday, the EC served a showcause notice to the CM asking him to respond till next Tuesday why he should not be disqualified in connection with allotment of a mine to himself. The poll watchdog had confirmed from the state chief secretary about the allotment of mining lease to the CM after which it had initiated the action.
The matter was referred to the EC by the Jharkhand governor after the latter had verified a complaint received against the CM. The ED is probing a money laundering case against multiple FIRs registered in mining scam and irregularities in MGNREGS funds in state.
Junior Jharkhand engineer RBP Sinha, under the scanner in a laundering case, is accused of embezzlement of Rs 18 crore between 2008 and 2011 in multiple FIRs registered by the state’s vigilance department. A chargesheet has been filed by the ED in the case while it has expanded the probe against other administrative officers.