Money laundering case: Jharkhand IAS officer Pooja Singhal's suspension revoked

New Delhi, Jan 22: The Jharkhand government has lifted the suspension of IAS officer Pooja Singhal, an accused in an alleged money laundering case. The Department of Personnel, Administrative Reforms, and Official Language issued the order directing her to report to the department. A committee headed by the Chief Secretary recently recommended her reinstatement.

Pooja Singhal, involved in an alleged money laundering case related to the MGNREGA scam in the Khunti district, was granted bail in September 2024 by a PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court after spending nearly 28 months in jail. She was released under a provision of the Indian Penal Code that allows bail for those who have served more than one-third of the maximum sentence for the alleged crime. The court granted her bail on the condition of depositing two sureties of Rs 2 lakh each and surrendering her passport.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) arrested Singhal on May 11, 2022, after conducting raids at her residence and other locations. During these raids, the ED recovered around Rs 20 crore in cash from the residence of her husband’s chartered accountant, Suman Kumar. Following her arrest, the Jharkhand government suspended her from service. Before her suspension, she held the dual portfolios of Industry Secretary and Mining Secretary and was also the Chairperson of the Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation.

In the past, she served as Agriculture Secretary under the BJP led government and was the Deputy Commissioner of Khunti during the period when the MGNREGA scam allegedly took place. Pooja Singhal, originally from Dehradun, has an impressive academic background. She excelled throughout her schooling and higher education, graduating from Garhwal University. She cleared the prestigious UPSC Civil Services Examination in her first attempt in 1999 at the age of 21, becoming an IAS officer.

Her career, marked by several prominent roles, took a significant turn when allegations of financial irregularities in Khunti’s MGNREGA scheme surfaced. The suspension and subsequent investigation followed the discovery of massive cash amounts linked to her and her associates, which brought her under the scanner of central agencies.