ED arrests Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam in money laundering case

Ranchi: The Enforcement Directorate Wednesday arrested Congress leader and Jharkhand Rural Development Minister Alamgir Alam in a money laundering case, official sources said.

The 70-year-old was taken into custody at the agency's zonal office here under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after about six hours of interrogation on the second day of questioning, the sources said.

He was grilled by the federal agency Tuesday for over nine hours and his statement was also recorded.

The agency had last week arrested Alam's personal secretary and state administrative service officer Sanjeev Kumar Lal (52) and the latter's domestic help Jahangir Alam (42) following the seizure of more than Rs 32 crore cash from a flat linked to them.

The money laundering investigation pertains to alleged irregularities and payment of "bribes" in the state rural development department.

While seeking the remand of the two arrested persons, the ED had informed a special PMLA court here that Lal collected "commission" on behalf of some influential people and that government officials from "top to bottom" in the rural department are involved in the alleged illegal cash payments nexus.

The total seizure of cash by the ED in this case has been recorded at around Rs 36.75 crore as the agency seized about Rs 3 crore from other locations including Rs 10.05 lakh from Lal's place and Rs 1.5 crore from a contractor's place.