Jailed Congress leader Alamgir Alam, charged in a money laundering investigation, has resigned from his roles as a cabinet minister and the leader of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP).
Alam submitted his resignation for the ministerial position to the Chief Minister and for the CLP leader role to the Congress national president via jail authorities, as ANI reported.
Alamgir Alam was arrested three weeks ago by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with a high-profile money laundering case. Recently, he was placed under a six-day remand by the Special PMLA (Prevention of Money Laundering Act) court in Ranchi.
Anil Kumar, Additional Solicitor General of India, revealed that a substantial amount of cash was seized from the residence of Alam’s personal secretary, Sanjeev Lal. The ED had previously summoned Alam to appear before the agency on May 14 at its Ranchi Zonal Office.
Following raids on premises in Ranchi, Jharkhand, the ED arrested Sanjeev Lal and Jahangir Alam, a domestic help, after discovering Rs 35.23 crore in cash. The money, stored in steel trunks, was removed from Alamgir Alam’s residence on Monday night.
Both Lal and Jahangir were questioned overnight by the ED and subsequently taken into custody. Jharkhand Congress President Rajesh Thakur expressed discontent over Alam’s treatment, stating that Alam, known for his integrity, deserved better under the law.
Thakur stated that Alam was not a flight risk and should have been treated with more respect by the legal system. He stressed that what happened to Alam was unjust.
“He appeared before the ED, he was questioned yesterday, and today, suddenly, the news of the arrest came. He was arrested after PM Modi’s speech, so a political angle comes into this. A person honestly appeared before the ED and he was not someone who would have run away, so the law should have respected him,” the Jharkhand Pradesh Congress Committee (JPCC) chief Thakur had said.
“If he wanted, he could have sought time by citing the election, but he didn’t do that. In a way, what happened to him was not right. He could have been called for questioning even after a few days. People are seeing this with their naked eyes. People will reply to this,” he added.
(With ANI inputs)