Jharkhand Secretariat (indicative picture).
– Photo: Social Media
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In Jharkhand, Chief Engineer of the Rural Development Department Virendra Kumar Ram has been suspended. This action has been taken after the arrest by the Enforcement Directorate in a money laundering case. The Jharkhand government said on Monday that it has suspended Virendra Kumar Ram, Chief Engineer of the Rural Development Department.
Earlier, a special PMLA court in Ranchi had on February 23 sent Ram to ED custody for five days. He is an accused in a money laundering case involving alleged irregularities in the implementation of certain schemes.
An order issued by the Water Resources Department of the Government of Jharkhand states that Virendra Kumar Ram, Chief Engineer of the Rural Development Department (Special Region) has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate under Section 19 of the PMLA under the Jharkhand Government Servant Rules-2016. The date of departure is suspended from 23 February 2023 till further orders. Significantly, Virender Kumar Ram was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate on February 23 after a long interrogation in a corruption case.
Ram was taken into ED custody after a long interrogation at the agency’s office in Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi. The action was taken after the central probe agency raided Ranchi, Jamshedpur and some other places in Jharkhand, Bihar and Delhi on February 21. Official sources had said that he was evasive in replying to the ED.
The money laundering case has been registered following a complaint by the State Vigilance Bureau that some alleged commission was paid in lieu of grant of government work. And this is a case related to alleged possession of disproportionate assets. Crores of rupees in cash, crores of rupees of jewelery and assets worth crores of rupees have been recovered in raids on Ram’s hideouts and the matter is still being interrogated and investigated.