The Enforcement Directorate arrested Congress leader and Jharkhand Rural Development Minister Alamgir Alam in a money laundering case, according to PTI sources.
Alam, 70, was taken into custody at the agency’s zonal office in Ranchi under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) after about six hours of questioning on the second day, the sources said.
He was interrogated by the federal agency for over nine hours on Tuesday, and his statement was recorded.
Last week, the agency had arrested Alam’s personal secretary, Sanjeev Kumar Lal, and Lal’s domestic help, Jahangir Alam, following the seizure of more than Rs 32 crore cash from a linked flat.
The money laundering probe is related to alleged irregularities and payment of “bribes” in the state rural development department.
During the remand request for the two arrested people, the ED informed a special PMLA court that Lal collected “commission” on behalf of influential people, and government officials at all levels in the rural department are involved in the alleged illegal cash payments nexus.
The total cash seizure by the ED in this case amounts to around Rs 36.75 crore, including approximately Rs 3 crore from other locations such as Rs 10.05 lakh from Lal’s place and Rs 1.5 crore from a contractor’s place.