Retired Engineers Surrender in Jharkhand Money Laundering Case
Key Developments in Jharkhand's Tender Scam
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Ranchi, April 8: In a significant turn of events regarding the multi-crore tender commission and money laundering investigation involving Jharkhand’s Rural Development Department, retired Engineer-in-Chief Rajiv Lochan and retired Executive Engineer Anil Kumar appeared before the Special PMLA Court in Ranchi on Wednesday.
The court granted them conditional bail after they provided personal bonds of Rs 1 lakh each.
As part of their bail conditions, both individuals must surrender their passports and are prohibited from leaving the country without prior approval.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has recently submitted a supplementary charge sheet implicating 14 engineers in this case. Following this, the court has summoned all those mentioned.
Meanwhile, the legal challenges persist for the main accused, former Rural Development Minister Alamgir Alam, and his private secretary, Sanjeev Lal. The Supreme Court has denied their bail requests and instructed the trial court to record statements from key witnesses within four weeks to expedite the trial process.
To date, the agency has executed 52 searches across Jharkhand, Delhi, and Bihar, resulting in the arrest of nine individuals connected to the case. Alam, his secretary Lal, and associate Jahangir Alam are currently in judicial custody, with Alam being arrested on May 15, 2024.
The ED's investigation has uncovered a systematic commission-based operation within the department, where contractors were allegedly coerced into paying around 3 percent in commissions to secure tenders. Of this amount, approximately 1.35 percent was reportedly funneled to the minister, while the rest was distributed among various officials.
The agency claims that illegal collections exceeding Rs 90 crore were amassed against tenders valued at around Rs 3,048 crore.
This case emerged in May 2024 after the ED conducted raids at locations associated with Jahangir Alam, leading to the seizure of Rs 32.20 crore in cash.
The investigation is based on an FIR filed by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Jamshedpur, under the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018.