ED arrests Jharkhand minister Alamgir Alam after seizing Rs 37 crore in cash

NEW DELHI: Jharkhand Rural Development Minister and Congress leader Alamgir Alam has been arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with the seizure of Rs 37 crore from the house of an employee of his Personal Secretary.

The arrest was made on the second day of questioning in Ranchi, over the money laundering case. Alamgir’s secretary Sanjeev Lalin and housekeeper Jahangir Alam were arrested earlier. The minister was interrogated for 10 hours on Tuesday and then six hours on Wednesday before the ED decided it was time to make the arrest. A special PMLA court remanded Sanjeev Lal and his domestic helper Jahangir Alam for six days, who were arrested under sections of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

In a raid on Jahangir Alam's Ranchi flat last week, currency notes worth Rs 35.23 crore were found. Also, Rs 1.5 crore was seized from another place. It is rumoured that the seized money was the commission received by the minister in the infamous Jharkhand tender scam. Aged 70, Alamgir Alam was first elected to the Jharkhand assembly in the year 2000. He has also served as a speaker. It was just months before that ED arrested Jharkhand Chief Minister and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha leader Hemant Soren in the land embezzlement case.