Ranchi, July 11 (IANS) The Jharkhand High Court on Friday rejected the bail plea of former state minister and senior Congress leader Alamgir Alam in connection with the high-profile money laundering case linked to a tender-commission scam in the state’s Rural Development Department.

Alam, who has been in judicial custody for the past 14 months, faced a setback after the bench of Justice Sujit Narayan Prasad denied him bail. The court had reserved its order on June 20 after hearing arguments from both sides.

During the proceedings, advocate Zoheb Hussain represented the Enforcement Directorate (ED) via video conferencing, while senior advocate S. Nagamuthu appeared for Alamgir Alam.

The former minister had approached the High Court after his bail plea was earlier rejected by the Ranchi-based Special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) Court. However, he failed to get relief here as well.

The ED had arrested Alam on May 15 last year in connection with a probe into a commission racket allegedly operating within the Rural Development Department.

Before that, on May 6, the ED had carried out extensive raids at the premises of Alam’s Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Sanjeev Lal, his domestic help Jahangir Alam, and several contractors.

The raids led to the cash recovery of Rs 30 crore from Jahangir Alam’s residence, Rs 2.93 crore from contractor Munna Singh, and Rs 2.14 crore from contractor Rajiv Singh.

Investigations revealed that a large-scale commission racket was going on in the awarding of tenders, with a significant portion allegedly funneled back to Alamgir Alam.

Alam was a prominent figure in the Jharkhand cabinet, serving as the number two minister under both Hemant Soren and Champai Soren.

He also held the post of Congress Legislature Party leader in the state assembly. He resigned from both positions shortly after his arrest.

–IANS

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