The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has urged the Special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Court in Ranchi, Jharkhand to ensure that senior IAS officer and former Mines Secretary Pooja Singhal is not assigned any post within the State government.
According to the ED, if Singhal is given a role in the state administration, she could misuse her authority and interfere with the ongoing case against her.
Previously, on January 29, the PMLA court sought the Jharkhand government’s approval to proceed with legal action against her in a money laundering case linked to the misappropriation of MGNREGA funds during her tenure as Deputy Commissioner in Khunti.
Singhal, a 2000-batch IAS officer, was arrested for allegedly embezzling crores of MGNREGA funds in Khunti.
After spending 28 months in jail, she was granted bail by the Special PMLA Court in Ranchi on December 7, 2024.
Following her release, the state government lifted her suspension and reinstated her effective the same day. She has since rejoined the Department of Personnel and is awaiting a new assignment.
However, the ED's petition questions the decision to reinstate Singhal in the same department.
Meanwhile, Pooja Singhal has already submitted a response regarding the matter, and the court is set to hear the case on February 14.
Before her arrest, the ED had conducted searches at multiple locations in connection with a money laundering case related to the alleged embezzlement of over Rs 18 crore from MGNREGA funds in Khunti between 2008 and 2011.
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Raids were carried out at 18 different locations, including Bihar, Rajasthan, Haryana, NCR, as well as Ranchi, Khunti, and Dhanbad in Jharkhand.
During her tenure as Deputy Commissioner in Chatra, Singhal was also accused of making an advance payment of Rs 6 crore to two NGOs—Welfare Point and Prerna Niketan—for musli farming, which reportedly never took place.
Additionally, while serving as Deputy Commissioner in Palamu, she was charged with illegally transferring 83 acres of forest land to a private company for mining—a case connected to Kathautia Coal Mines.
The ED stated that Rs 1.43 crore, exceeding her known sources of income, was found in her bank accounts while she held the position of Deputy Commissioner in Khunti, Palamu, and Chatra.
Furthermore, the agency alleged that Singhal purchased 13 insurance policies with a total premium payment of ₹80.81 lakh, which she later closed before their maturity, receiving Rs 84.64 lakh in return.
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