In various locations across Ranchi, Jharkhand, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) conducted raids. Significant cash was seized from the house of a domestic worker at the Rural Development Minister Alamgir Alam's private secretary, Sanjeev Lal's residence. Six places were raided in total, recovering cash amounting to 35.23 crores. Bank officials arrived with currency-counting machines, and the counting of notes has been ongoing since the raid.
The ED arrested chief engineer Virendra K. Ram of the Jharkhand Rural Development Department in February 2023 in connection with laundering money linked to irregularities in the implementation of certain schemes. According to sources, the ED had written confidential letters to the state government about the pervasive corruption in the department, urging FIR registration. However, no action was taken on these letters, which instead were shared with corrupt officials. A similar letter was recovered alongside the cash.
ED believes this to be part of illicit earnings. In fact, during an investigation of a 10,000 rupees bribery case, the agency unearthed links that appeared to reach up to a minister. Information indicated corruption in Alamgir Alam's ministry, with the money routed through servants' homes. Following this, the ED conducted a raid on the domestic worker's residence, and the large amount of cash on-site left the agency astounded.
Several days ago, while campaigning in Jharkhand, Prime Minister Modi had raised the issue of corruption, and this operation followed shortly after his rally, where a considerable amount of cash was uncovered. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey attacked the Congress regarding this, saying, 'Let the counting happen – it may cross 50 crores. The entire Jharkhand government is steeped in corruption.'
Today, Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioned this issue again while addressing a rally in Nabarangpur, Odisha. On finding cash in Jharkhand, he stated, 'Even if I send a single rupee, I won't let it be eaten. Anyone who eats it will chew on jail food. Go home today and watch on TV, there are mountains of notes being found in the neighbouring state (Jharkhand). Modi is seizing the loot. He has stopped their theft. Now, will they abuse Modi or not? Should I endure abuses and continue to work? Shouldn't I save your rightful money?'
Alamgir Alam is a Congress member who has been elected four times from the Pakur assembly constituency and currently serves as Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Rural Development. After inheriting politics, Alamgir won the election for the village headman and entered politics. He became an MLA for the first time in 2000 and has since been elected four times.
