6 May 2024: The Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted extensive raids across Ranchi, resulting in the seizure of a substantial amount of ‘unaccounted’ cash allegedly connected to a close aide of Jharkhand’s rural development minister and Congress MLA, Alamgir Alam.
Video footage from the operation depicted stacks of currency notes spread across a room in the residence of a domestic help believed to be associated with the private secretary of Minister Alamgir Alam.
Alam, responding to the developments, stated, “I have no official information regarding this so far,” adding, “I have been watching TV and it says the premise is linked to the official PS (private secretary) provided to me by the government.”
Alam, aged 70, is a prominent Congress leader representing the Pakur seat in the Jharkhand assembly.
Officials revealed that over Rs 20 crores have been counted from the cash seized during the raid, with the counting process ongoing.
This isn’t the first instance of the ED’s scrutiny in Jharkhand. In February 2023, the agency apprehended Virendra K Ram, the chief engineer at the Jharkhand Rural Development Department, over alleged irregularities in the implementation of government schemes. The agency had alleged that Ram had amassed proceeds of crime through illicit commissions from contractors.
Following the recent raids, the BJP accused the Congress party of fostering widespread corruption in the state. Jharkhand BJP spokesperson Pratul Shah Deo remarked, “Don’t be surprised. This is not the scene of the cash vault of any government bank. This is the treasure of crores of rupees recovered during the raid conducted by ED in the house of the personal secretary of Alamgir Alam ji, a minister of Jharkhand government, which was looted from the tribal indigenous people of Jharkhand.”
Nishikant Dubey, BJP MP from Deoghar, also commented on the ED’s actions, highlighting the significant cash seizure allegedly linked to a personal secretary of a Congress Legislative Party leader.
The central agency is continuing its operations, conducting simultaneous raids at nine other locations, including Sail City in Ranchi, as part of its ongoing investigations.
