Ranchi (The Hawk): The rural development department of the Jharkhand government has been asked to provide a thorough report on the money laundering case involving the alleged misappropriation of MGNREGA funding by the Enforcement Directorate (ED).
In order to take action against those participating in the scam under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, the ED has also sought information on their roles in the scheme (PMLA).
Several IAS personnel and state political personalities may be the target of an ED investigation, according to sources. Vinod Kumar, Assistant Director (Intelligence) in the Enforcement Directorate, requested a report on the FIRs, chargesheets, and actions done thus far in the matter in a letter to the rural development department.
Pooja Singhal, a senior IAS officer, was detained and imprisoned in May of this year in connection with a money laundering case involving a different MGNREGA-related scandal.
Large-scale irregularities, including purchases made under the names of bricks, stones, cow barns, etc., have been documented in a number of state districts under the pretext of purchasing supplies for MGNREGA schemes.
Aradhana Patnaik, who was the rural development secretary at the time, discovered a case of a suspicious withdrawal of Rs 200 crore from MGNREGA programmes a year earlier. The sum was discovered to have been withdrawn in March 2020. Patnaik had commissioned a high-level investigation of the situation.
(Inputs from Agencies)