ED files 5,000-page charge sheet against Jharkhand IAS officer Pooja Singhal, others in money laundering case
FirstpostPooja Singhal, a 2000-batch IAS officer, was arrested by the agency in May as part of a probe linked to alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds and some other alleged suspicious financial transactions Ranchi: The Enforcement Directorate on Tuesday filed a charge sheet against former Jharkhand mining secretary Pooja Singhal and others as part of a money-laundering probe against her and those linked to the IAS officer, officials said. Singhal, a 2000-batch IAS officer, was arrested by the agency in May as part of a probe linked to alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds and some other alleged suspicious financial transactions. The ED, quoting the statements of some witnesses interrogated earlier, told the court that Singhal played a “pivotal role in the construction and managing the important affairs of the Pulse super speciality hospital and huge payments were received in cash.” It had claimed that a probe found that Singhal had in the past transferred Rs 16.57 lakh funds from her personal accounts to three bank accounts owned or controlled by the chartered accountant. It alleged that the chartered accountant recorded his statement with the ED under the PMLA and stated that “most of the cash recovered from his house belongs to Pooja Singhal, which was collected by him on her behalf.” “He disclosed that on instructions of Pooja Singhal, he gave Rs 3 crore in cash to a renowned builder for purchasing land for Pulse hospital owned by Pooja Singhal and her family,” the ED had alleged.