Lagatar24 Desk
Ranchi: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has filed a chargesheet against three individuals — Pramod Singh, his wife Priya Singh, and his father Aditya Narayan Singh — in connection with the massive NRHM (National Rural Health Mission) scam, alleging laundering of ₹9.39 crore that was meant for public health programmes like Pulse Polio. According to the chargesheet, the accused diverted public funds for personal use, purchasing land and assets in the names of close family members.
Pramod Singh served as the Block Accounts Manager in Jharia and Jorapokhar blocks of Dhanbad, with a monthly salary of ₹17,000. Alongside then Medical Officer Shashi Bhushan Prasad (now deceased), he had joint authority to operate the NRHM bank account. The funds were designated for pulse polio drives, training programs, and honorariums, but instead, ₹9.39 crore was siphoned off fraudulently.
Of the embezzled funds, Pramod Singh transferred ₹3.95 crore to his own accounts in State Bank and Punjab National Bank. Using cheque no. 477268, ₹10 lakh was moved into his wife Priya Singh’s account, which was later routed to M/s Sahayogi Properties Pvt. Ltd. to purchase land in Sahayogi Nagar. When questioned, Pramod and Priya Singh claimed the amount used was a cash loan from Priya’s mother, but they failed to provide any credible documentation or evidence to support the claim.
Pramod Singh also transferred ₹18.66 lakh from Jharia and Jorapokhar NRHM funds to Priya Singh’s account and allegedly bought immovable property worth ₹1.63 crore. He also misused bank accounts and ATM cards of associates Ashwini Kumar Sharma, Vijay Kumar Singh, and Arun Kumar Singh to launder the funds.
His father, Aditya Narayan Singh, received ₹15.17 lakh in cash deposits but could not substantiate the source. He claimed that funds came from matured recurring and FD accounts at a Katraasgarh post office, but ED’s verification found the claim inconsistent. Further, ₹1.42 crore of misappropriated funds were used to buy property in the name of Pramod’s mother, Ramapati Devi.
The ED has charged all three under Sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), calling the transactions part of a larger scheme to embezzle and convert public health funds into personal wealth.
