Ranchi, March 31 (IANS) The Enforcement Directorate has filed a fifth supplementary charge sheet before a PMLA Special Court in Ranchi in connection with the alleged MGNREGA scam in Jharkhand’s Khunti district, naming five additional accused, including close relatives of IAS officer Pooja Singhal, an official statement said on Tuesday.

Those named in the latest charge sheet include Singhal’s mother Kamlesh Singhal, brother Siddharth Singhal, and mother-in-law Amita Jha. The other accused are Radheshyam Fireworks LLP and Pawan Kumar Singh, brother of Chartered Accountant Suman Kumar.

According to the ED, the newly named accused were allegedly involved in concealing and laundering proceeds of crime linked to large-scale irregularities in the implementation of MGNREGA schemes in Khunti.

The agency has also sought attachment of a 17-decimal plot in the Boreya area of Ranchi, valued at around Rs 1.33 crore, which it claims was acquired using illicit funds.

The case is based on 16 FIRs registered by the Jharkhand Police and the state Vigilance Bureau. Investigations have indicated that between 2009 and 2011, out of approximately Rs 24 crore sanctioned for development works in Khunti, nearly Rs 18.06 crore was allegedly siphoned off through fraudulent execution and inflated billing.

The ED has alleged that Pooja Singhal, then Deputy Commissioner of Khunti, played a central role in the scam by facilitating approvals in exchange for commissions of up to five per cent and extending patronage to officials involved. The proceeds were allegedly routed through relatives, associates, and benami entities to mask their origin.

Probe findings further suggest that funds were infused as share capital into a private firm using bank accounts linked to Amita Jha, while Siddharth Singhal also made similar investments.

The Boreya land parcel, the ED claims, was purchased through Radheshyam Fireworks LLP using laundered money, with Pawan Kumar Singh and Kamlesh Singhal shown as nominal partners to conceal the actual ownership.

Earlier, the ED had filed a prosecution complaint against eight accused, including Pooja Singhal, her husband Abhishek Jha, and Suman Kumar. During searches conducted on May 6, 2022, the agency had recovered Rs 19.31 crore in cash from premises linked to Suman Kumar, a key development in the case.

The ED said multiple assets have been provisionally attached so far, with confirmations received from the Adjudicating Authority, and added that further investigation is underway.

–IANS

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