It is important to note that as soon as the information about Pooja Singhal’s arrest was received, the process of her suspension was started by the Jharkhand government and late in the evening, the file was sent to Chief Minister Hemant Soren.
Ranchi: A day after Jharkhand mining secretary Pooja Singhal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in an alleged case of money laundering, the state government on Thursday suspended the 2000-batch IAS officer with immediate effect.
A notification to this tune was issued by the Department of Personnel, Administrative Reforms and Official Language on Thursday. During the suspension period, only subsistence allowance will be payable to Singhal as per rules. Singhal was also working as the Secretary of Industries, Secretary of Mines and Geology Department and Managing Director of Jharkhand State Mineral Development Corporation Limited.
In the order issued by the Personnel Department, it has been said, “The Secretary, Industries Department, Pooja Singhal was arrested by the Directorate of Enforcement under Section-19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, PMLA 2002. For this reason, under Rule 3(3) of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, she is suspended with immediate effect.”
The order added, “During the suspension period (after being released from custody), the headquarters of Pooja Singhal will be Department of Personnel, Administrative Reforms and Official Language. Under Rule 4(1) of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, the subsistence allowance will be payable to Pooja Singhal during the period of suspension. Information about the suspension of Pooja Singhal has also been sent by the Jharkhand government to the Union Personnel Ministry.”
It is important to note that as soon as the information about the arrest was received, the process of her suspension was started by the Jharkhand government and late in the evening, the file was sent to Chief Minister Hemant Soren. After getting an approval from Soren, a notification of suspension of Singhal was issued on Thursday.
The arrest came days after the ED conducted raids at multiple locations related to Singhal, including at her Chartered Accountant Suman Kumar’s residence. The agency had unearthed a total of over Rs 17 crore from Kumar’s home.
According to a statement issued by the ED, the agency carried out searches at about 18-20 premises in Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal, Delhi, Punjab and a few other states under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).