Ranchi
Enforcement Directorate sleuths on Wednesday arrested State’s Rural Development Minister and senior Congress leader Alamgir Alam in a money laundering case after “sustained” interrogation spread over two days in connection with the recovery of over Rs 35 crore in cash from the house of his personal secretary’s domestic help.
The arrest assumes significance since it could have substantial ramifications on the prospects of political parties in the fray as it comes amidst the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. Jharkhand has witnessed the completion of just one of the three scheduled phases of voting so far.
And with Assembly polls later this year, the senior Congress leader’s arrest is also likely to be raked up the BJP and its allies which have already made corruption the main plank to take on the JMM-led alliance.
Alam’s arrest is the second major blow to the JMM-Congress-RJD government in Jharkhand in recent times with former Chief Minister Hemant Soren having been arrested by the ED on January 31 this year in a money laundering case linked to an alleged land scam. While Hemant has challenged his arrest by the ED in the Supreme Court, the apex court has issued notice to the central agency to file its reply by May 17, the date of likely hearing.
The ED had summoned Alam to appear at its zonal office in Ranchi to record his statement under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The money laundering investigation relates to alleged irregularities in the State’s Rural Development Department.
The agency had arrested Alam’s personal secretary Sanjeev Lal and his house help Jahangir Alam on Tuesday, a day after ₹35.23 crore were seized from them.
Security has been beefed up at ED office near the Birsa Munda airport in the Hinoo locality of Jharkhand capital. Alamgir Alam represents Pakur Vidhan Sabha constituency. He is also a former Speaker of Jharkhand Vidhan Sabha and is known as a great “well-wisher” of minority communities in Jharkhand, especially, Muslims.
The ED sleuths also carried out survey works at the Nucleus Mall premises in the Jharkhand capital. Its owner Vishnu Agarwal was put behind the bars in a money laundering case linked to a land scam which led to the arrest of former Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
Though Hemant is still languishing in jail, Agarwal has been granted bail by a competent court of law. Agarwal hogged centrestage a couple of days ago after he was seen presenting a bouquet of roses to the visiting Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in Ranchi, even as state unit BJP chief Babulal Marandi looked on.
But an undeterred Prime Minister Narendra Modi during all his three recent election campaigns in different parts of Jharkhand, raked up the recovery of the “mountains” of cash from the premises of close aides of Alamgir Alam and former Congress Rajya Sabha member Dhiraj Prasad Sahu. He urged the masses to ensure that the Congress and its allies did not get a single vote at any of the polling stations.
