Jharkhand Congress Minister Alamgir Alam Arrested In Money Laundering Probe After Rs 35 Cr Recovered

Jharkhand Minister Alamgir Alam was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday, just days after mounds of cash worth more than Rs 35 crore were recovered. The Congress minister was arrested following two days of questioning by ED agents in Ranchi -- nine hours on Tuesday and six hours on Wednesday -- in connection with the recovery of a large sum of money from his personal assistant's domestic help.

Following the cash seizure on May 6, ED raids were carried out at the home of Alamgir Alam's personal assistant, Sanjeev Lal, and his other associates. During the raids, the ED seized damning documents relating to bureaucrat transfer-postings. The ED arrested both Sanjeev Lal, PS to Alamgir Alam, and his domestic help Jehangir Alam after recovering a whopping Rs 35.23 crore in cash from their Ranchi residence.

The two were arrested after being charged under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The seizure of a staggering amount of cash early this month not only dominated national headlines, but also highlighted the 'rampant' corruption and looting of public wealth under the JMM-Congress coalition government.

Notably, in a public rally in the state's Koderma district on Tuesday, PM made a veiled dig at the INDIA bloc government in the state, thundering from the podium that looters of public wealth will not be spared nor allowed to sleep soundly.