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- Published: May 6, 2022 16:30
New Delhi: In a raid at a different location linked with IAS officer Pooja Singhal, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seized over 17 crore cash in Jharkhand’s Rachi on Friday. Singhal is a mining and Geology Department secretary and is said to be a close aid of Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
On the raid, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said on Twitter that ED raided as many as 20 locations linked with Singhal in Ranchi, Rajasthan, Delhi, and Mumbai.
Besides, ED is investigating the involvement of Singhal in the National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA) scheme in the Khunti and Chatra districts.
ED raids locations linked to Jharkhand mining secretary, others
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The investigation started after Senior advocate of Jharkhand High Court, Rajeev Kumar submitted a complaint against her to the ED in February 2022.
Meanwhile, on May 2, the Election Commission of India (ECI) sent a notice to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren over “office of profit” allegations against him regarding a mining lease.
The EC also asked for an explanation from Soren in the notice as to why action should not be taken against him for having a mining lease issued in his favour, violating Section 9A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951.
The section 9A deals with disqualification for government contracts.
Moreover, former Jharkhand Chief Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) national vice president Raghubar Das accused Soren of misusing his official position to get a stone mining lease in the Angara block of Ranchi.
Earlier on April 8, Jharkhand High Court had issued notice to CM Soren while hearing a PIL filed against Soren in the same matter, terming it “serious”.