Ranchi, March 18 (NationPress) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has submitted its fifth supplementary charge sheet in the Jharkhand Rural Works Department (RWD) money laundering investigation to the Special Court addressing PMLA cases in Ranchi, as reported by the agency on Wednesday.

This action was executed by the Ranchi Zonal Office on March 17, in accordance with Sections 44 and 45 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The charge sheet implicates 14 engineers and officials from the RWD, the Rural Development Special Zone (RDSZ), and the Jharkhand State Rural Road Development Authority (JSRRDA) as new defendants.

Consequently, the cumulative number of defendants in this case has escalated to 36 across all charge sheets.

The investigation stems from an FIR lodged by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Jamshedpur, following the provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018.

The ED's inquiry has revealed a systematic bribery scheme operating within the RWD, RDSZ, and JSRRDA, where a fixed commission of approximately 3% of the total tender value was extracted from contractors in return for contract awards.

The agency disclosed that this commission was funneled through a structured chain: about 1.35% allegedly went to former Minister Alamgir Alam via his personal secretary, Sanjeev Kumar Lal; 0.65% to 1% to the departmental secretary; and the remainder to chief engineers and other subordinate officials.

Out of the total tender allocations nearing Rs 3,048 crore, the illicit proceeds are estimated to surpass Rs 90 crore.

Among those newly implicated are retired Chief Engineers Singrai Tuti, Rajeev Lochan, Surendra Kumar, and Pramod Kumar; Executive Engineers Santosh Kumar, Ajay Kumar, Ajay Tirkey, Raj Kumar Toppo, Ashok Kumar Gupta, Siddhant Kumar, and Anil Kumar (Retd.); Assistant Engineers Ram Pukar Ram and Ramesh Ojha (both retired); and former Superintending Engineer/Engineer-in-Chief Umesh Kumar (Retd.).

The ED has asserted that its investigation confirmed their significant involvement in the collection, aggregation, and transfer of illicit commission amounts, which are categorized as proceeds of crime under the PMLA.

To date, the agency has conducted 52 searches throughout Jharkhand, Delhi, and Bihar, resulting in the arrest of nine individuals in connection with the case. Former Minister Alam, his personal secretary Lal, and associate Jahangir Alam are currently detained in judicial custody.

Additionally, the ED has issued three provisional attachment orders, seizing assets worth approximately Rs 44 crore, all of which the Adjudicating Authority has validated.

Furthermore, cash totaling around Rs 38 crore has been confiscated, including Rs 32.20 crore from properties linked to Lal and Rs 2.93 crore from Munna Singh, along with eight luxury vehicles.

Previously, the ED had filed one main charge sheet and four supplementary charge sheets in this ongoing case. The court has acknowledged all submissions.