The Enforcement Directorate on Monday, May 6, recovered a huge amount of cash from the household help of private secretary Sanjiv Lal to Jharkhand Rural Development minister Alamgir Alam in suspended Chief Engineer Virendra Ram case during raids at multiple locations in Ranchi.
According to ED officials, more than Rs 20 crores have been counted so far, and counting is still in process. The probe agency raided six sites belonging to Virendra Ram under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).
ED arrested Virendra K. Ram, the chief engineer at the Jharkhand Rural Development Department, in February 2023 in a money laundering case linked to alleged irregularities in the implementation of some schemes.
Mountain of Cash Recovered
Footage shared by the news agency ANI shows a mountain of cash filling the room raided by the ED. The room is allegedly owned by Sanjiv Lal, the personal secretary of Jharkhand Rural Development Minister Alamgir Alam's household.
"Corruption is not ending in Jharkhand. This money during elections indicates that there is a plan to spend this money in the elections. The Election Commission should take action on this," said Jharkhand BJP spokesperson Pratul Shahdev.
Another BJP MP Deepak Prakash said, "Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, Congress and RJD are doing the work of converting Jharkhand into 'Lootkhand'. Today again an amount of more than Rs 25 crore has been recovered, and it belongs to the ministers of the ruling party. The people of Jharkhand are feeling insulted today."
Nine places, including Sail City in Ranchi, are the target of simultaneous raids by the inquiry agency. An ED team searched Sail City early on Monday in an attempt to find Vikas Kumar, an engineer with the Road Construction Department. Raids are being carried out in the regions of Bariatu, Morhabadi, and Bodia by another ED team.