New Delhi, July 15 (UNI) In the latest development in a case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) involving Jharkhand IAS of- ficer Pooja Singhal, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Friday that it has seized cash amounting to Rs11.88 crore lying in 37 bank accounts belonging to Pankaj Mishra, Dahoo Yadav, and their associates. The ED has also seized five stone crushers and five illegal firearm cartridges in connection with the case.
The evidence collected during the course of the investigation — including statements of various persons, digital evidence, and documents — revealed that the seized cash was derived from illegal mining carried out rampantly in the Sahibganj area. Earlier, the ED had conducted searches at 19 locations in Sahibganj, Barnet, Rajmahal, Mirza Chauki, and Barharwa, which resulted in the seizure of various incriminating documents and Rs 5.34 crore unaccounted cash.
A trail of further Rs 100 crore proceeds of crime generated from illegal mining have also been unearthed. In May, the ED conducted searches at 36 locations connected to the MN- REGA scam, resulting in the seizure of Rs 19.76 crore in cash.
The searched premises included those belonging to Pooja Singhal and her associates. In this case, also, evidence collected during the course of the investigation, including those collected during the searches and statements of various persons, revealed that the major chunk of the seized cash was derived from illegal mining.
