LAGATAR24 NETWORK
Ranchi, Sept 12: The money laundering probe against suspended Jharkhand cadre IAS officer Pooja Singhal and her husband Abhishek Jha may land many small-time contractors in a serious legal and financial problem who had offered their service in the construction of the Pulse Super Speciality Hospital in Ranchi.
The Enforcement Directorate believes that some of the contractors directly or indirectly helped Pooja Singhal and Abhishek Jha in money laundering. Insiders said that some contractors accepted huge payments in cash and kept no record of the construction works done by them.
Now in the last couple of days, the ED is said to have sent fresh summons to some of the contractors.
The ED arrested her on the charge of committing a scam worth Rs.18.06 crore in the execution of the MNREGA scheme in Khunti district during her tenure as Deputy Commissioner during the period 16th February 2009 to 19th July 2010.
The ED claimed that Pooja Singhal invested a substantial portion of the scam money in the construction of the hospital which she owns along with her husband. In May, when the ED raided the official residence of Pooja Singhal and her chartered accountant Suman Kumar Singh, a number of such contractors were summoned and questioned. Along with Pooja Singhal, the ED had raided the office of a contractor also who was part of the Pulse Hospital construction project.
One of the contractors accepted that he was questioned. “Don’t know why they have so much doubt about us. We are on the radar of the ED. I simply offered my service. We are petty vendors and a number of us have not received our dues,” said one of the contractors.
