Ranchi (Jharkhand), May 11: The Enforcement Directorate on Wednesday arrested Jharkhand mining secretary Pooja Singhal in connection with a money-laundering case linked to the alleged embezzlement of MGNREGA funds and other charges.
Earlier on the day, Singhal was summoned for questioning. Notably, she was also questioned for around nine hours a day before.
According to ED sources, they will investigate her transactions over the last three years to look for any suspicious money trails. The agency is also scanning all of her properties for details.
This is the second arrest in this case as Chartered Accountant Suman Kumar has been already arrested by the agency on May 7. ED had also recovered Rs 17.51 crore from the premises of Kumar and Rs 1.8 crore from pulse Hospital.
Singhal has been arrested after ED got credible evidence of her connection with CA Suman Kumar.
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The ED raided Pulse Hospital in Ranchi earlier this month. The hospital is owned by Pooja Singhal's husband Abhishek Jha.
Rajeev Kumar, a senior advocate of the Jharkhand High Court, filed a complaint with the ED in February 2022.
On Friday, the ED conducted raids at over 18 places, including Ranchi, Chandigarh, Mumbai, Kolkata, Muzaffarpur, Saharsa, and in several parts of NCR including Faridabad and Gurugram as well as Noida.
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On Sunday, the ED questioned Abhishek Jha, Pooja Singhal's husband, in connection with searches at Pulse Hospital.
Pooja Singhal is the Managing Director of Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation Limited (JSMDC) and the Secretary of the Department of Mines and Geology.
-PTC News