Money Laundering Case: Suspended IAS officer Pooja Singhal did not get relief, now in ED custody till June 8

• The case against Singhal and others pertains to money laundering, in which Ram Vinod Sinha, a former junior engineer in the Jharkhand government, was arrested by the ED on June 17, 2020, from West Bengal. Prior to that, a case under PMLA was registered by the agency in 2012 after going through the FIR of the State Vigilance Bureau against him.
• Sinha was booked under criminal sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) relating to cheating and corruption. He is accused of working as a junior engineer from April 1, 2008 to March 21, 2011, for allegedly duping public money and investing it in his own name as well as that of his family members.
• The agency had earlier said that the said funds were earmarked for execution of government projects under MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) in Khunti district. Sinha told the ED that he had paid five per cent commission (out of fraud) to the district administration.

Expansion

The ED custody of suspended IAS officer Pooja Singhal has been extended once again in the money laundering case. The local court here on Tuesday extended the ED custody of Pooja Singhal till June 8.

ED’s lawyer BMP Singh told that Suman Kumar and Pooja Singhal were produced before the court. The ED demanded that Suman Kumar be sent to judicial custody. The court accepted this and sent him to jail.

Earlier, a decision was given to send Pooja Singhal to ED custody for five days. Earlier on May 16, the court had sent the suspended IAS officer and his CA to ED custody.

What is the matter?

• The case against Singhal and others pertains to money laundering, in which Ram Vinod Sinha, a former junior engineer in the Jharkhand government, was arrested by the ED on June 17, 2020, from West Bengal. Prior to that, a case under PMLA was registered by the agency in 2012 after going through the FIR of the State Vigilance Bureau against him.
• Sinha was booked under criminal sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) relating to cheating and corruption. He is accused of working as a junior engineer from April 1, 2008 to March 21, 2011, for allegedly duping public money and investing it in his own name as well as that of his family members.
• The agency had earlier said that the said funds were earmarked for execution of government projects under MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) in Khunti district. Sinha told the ED that he had paid five per cent commission (out of fraud) to the district administration.