The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has summoned Congress Minister Alamgir Alam on May 14 at Ranchi Zonal office in the case related to recovery of ₹35 crore from premises linked to his OSD (Officer on Special Duty) Sanjeev Kumar Lal.
On May 6, the ED had conducted raids at several locations in Ranchi including Mr. Lal’s residence and his domestic help Jahangir Alam and seized the case over ₹35 crore.
Mr. Alam, the Rural Development Department (RDD) Minister and also leader of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) in the Assembly has earlier rubbished the allegation of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders about having anything to do with the cash haul.
The Central agency had conducted the raids at Lal’s Deendayal Nagar residence and Shanti Niketan flat in Kanke Road and residence of the domestic help located in Harmu Road. The raids were also conducted at the residence of Vikas Kumar and Kuldeep Minj, both are assistant engineers of Road Construction Department (RCD), Jharkhand.
On May 10, the general administration department had issued the notification to suspend Mr. Lal effective from May 6, the day he was arrested along with his domestic help.
In February 2023, the ED had arrested Virendra Ram, former Chief Engineer of RDD and in the same case, the Central agency had conducted the raids at the Minister’s OSD and others.
On May 8, the ED had also raided the office of Mr. Lal and next day his wife was called to ED office for questioning.
The recovery of cash has turned into a big political issue in the ongoing Lok Sabha election. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have taken the dig on INDIA (Indian National Developmental, Inclusive Alliance) bloc over the issue by mentioning it during their respective election rallies in Jharkhand.
Former Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Hemant Soren is already in jail in the money laundering case and the Opposition BJP in the State leaving no stone unturned to attack ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) and its alliance partner Congress over alleged corruption charges.
Published - May 12, 2024 10:33 pm IST
