IAS Pooja Singhal: IAS Pooja Singhal, the Jharkhand Mining Secretary, has come under ED scanner in connection to a money laundering case linked to MGNREGA funds in the state. On Friday, premises linked to IAS Pooja Singhal was raided by Enforcement Directorate (ED) as part of its probe in connection to the 18 crore INR MGNREGA funds in Jharkhand. Around Rs 17.51 Crore cash was recovered from the premises of a Ranchi-based Chartered Accountant-cum-financial advisor who has links with the IAS officer Pooja Singhal and her family are under the scanner, ED said.
Till now, ED confirmed that 19.31 crore INR cash was recovered from two premises, including the house of the CA, that was searched in Ranchi. Another 1.8 crore rupees cash was recovered from another location in the city.
The ED raids were conducted under provisions of the PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) at 18 different locations in the four states including Bihar, Jharkhand, Punjab, and West Bengal. In Jharkhand, Pooja Singhal, who is an IAS officer and secretary of the Department of Mines and Geology of the Jharkhand government, is now facing the heat for her alleged involvement in the fraud case of the MGNREGA funds.
Who is IAS Pooja Singhal and why she is facing ED heat
- IAS Pooja Singhal is the secretary of the Department of Mines and Geology of the Jharkhand government
- Singhal is a 2000 batch IAS (Indian Administrative Service) officer and was posted as the deputy commissioner in Khuntio district, Jharkhand
- IAS Pooja Singhal has faced many serious allegations of financial irregularities during her tenure as Deputy Commissioner in Chatra, Khunti, and Palamu districts, according to the Navbharat Times’ report
- IAS Pooja Singhal is married to Abhishek Jha, who is the MD of Pulse Super Speciality Hospital, Ranchi. Premises linked to Abhishek Jha were also raided by ED in connection to this case
- Pooja Singhal’s brother Sidharth Singhal, who was among the directors of Pulse Super Speciality Hospital, is also under the scanner of ED in connection to the alleged MNREGA funds fraud case
