Enforcement Directorate (ED) officers on Monday questioned Rajeev Arun Ekka, a former principal secretary to Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren for about 10 hours in Ranchi in reference to a probe into money laundering linked to instances in opposition to one other IAS officer Pooja Singhal. Ekka is now the secretary of the Panchayati Raj division in Jharkhand authorities.
Earlier, Ekka had earlier this month sought time after March 24 to seem earlier than the central company in view of the Jharkhand meeting’s funds session. The final meeting session ended on March 23.
“Ekka appeared before sleuths of the Enforcement Directorate here in connection with a probe into the alleged irregularities in the MGNREGA scheme and money laundering linked to cases against Pooja Singhal,” an official of the central company mentioned.
Ekka had reached the regional workplace of the central company right here at about 11 am and was seen leaving at round 9 pm. He didn’t reply the queries of the media.
The former principal secretary to the CM, who’s alleged to have signed official paperwork at a personal place, was faraway from the Chief Minister’s Office after fees had been introduced in opposition to him by the opposition.
The company can also be probing Singhal’s position in the alleged irregularities in the mining sector of the state as a part of a case filed below the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) together with the MGNREGA ‘scam’, the ED official mentioned.
The state authorities had earlier arrange a one-member inquiry fee headed by Jharkhand High Court’s former chief justice Vinod Kumar Gupta to probe into the allegations in opposition to Ekka.
In view of the “signing of official documents at a private place”, BJP chief and former chief minister Babulal Marandi had written a letter to Chief Secretary Sukhdev Singh earlier this month, searching for a radical investigation into the alleged involvement of an influence dealer in the case, apart from an engineer in the Police Building Construction Corporation.
Marandi additionally sought motion in opposition to Ekka and departmental engineers.
Singhal, a 2000-batch IAS officer and former secretary of the mines division of Jharkhand, was arrested by the ED on May 11 final 12 months on money laundering fees.
The company had mentioned that it seized unaccounted money amounting to greater than Rs 36 crore linked to alleged unlawful mining throughout investigations in money laundering instances in opposition to Singhal and others.
(With PTI enter)
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