VIJAY DEO JHA
Ranchi, May 6: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Friday conducted raids against 2000 batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre Pooja Singhal for her alleged involvement in the MNREGA scam in Khunti district. During the raids so far Rs 17 crores have been recovered from her chartered accountant Suman Sharma’s house besides many incriminating documents, the ED confirmed.
The ED sources also said that Pooja Singhal’s father-in-law has not been arrested so far.
Raids were conducted at as many as 25 places in four states namely Jharkhand, Bihar, Bengal, Delhi and Rajasthan. Highly placed sources said that raids are being conducted against Pooja Singhal, her husband Abhishek Jha, her brother based in Delhi, parents and other associates. In the Muzaffarpur district in Bihar, the ED officials raided the residence of Abhishek Jha who owns a super speciality Pulse Hospital. In Delhi, the ED raided the house of her brother Siddharth Singhal who had also served as director of the Pulse Hospital.
In Kolkata, the ED raided some entry offices that have allegedly deposited unaccounted money of the IAS officer and her husband. At Jaipur in Rajasthan, the ED is learnt to have raided a few locations of one RK Jain who was earlier posted in Khunti.
In Ranchi, the ED raided Pulse Hospital, besides Panchvati Plaza on Kanke Road where her parents stay. It was reliably learnt that the ED also raided the premises of her chartered accountant Suman Sharma.
