The Directorate of Enforcement (ED), Ranchi Zonal Office, has filed its fourth supplementary prosecution complaint on October 22, 2025, before the Special PMLA Court, Ranchi. This complaint is part of the ongoing money laundering investigation into a large-scale corruption network within the Rural Works Department, Government of Jharkhand.
This new complaint names eight more accused persons, including contractors, aides, and family members of government officials, for their involvement in generating, handling, and laundering illegal money (Proceeds of Crime – POC). With this, the total number of accused in the case has now reached 22.
The ED’s investigation began on the basis of a predicate offence registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Jamshedpur, after Junior Engineer Suresh Prasad Verma was caught accepting a bribe. During the follow-up searches, the ACB seized ₹2.67 crore in cash from premises linked to Veerendra Kumar Ram, the then Chief Engineer of the department.
Massive Corruption Network Uncovered
The ED investigation revealed a well-organized corruption syndicate within the department. Previous complaints showed that Chief Engineer Veerendra Kumar Ram managed the collection of illegal commissions from contractors.
The ED also found evidence linking Alamgir Alam, the then Minister of Rural Development Department, to the scam. He allegedly received a fixed commission on government tenders, which was collected by his Personal Secretary, Sanjeev Kumar Lal, and his aides.
Earlier searches by the ED had led to the seizure of over ₹37 crore in cash connected to this network. This illegal money was later laundered through a Delhi-based network of Chartered Accountants and entry operators, and then used to buy several high-value assets.
Bribe Payments and Seized Vehicles
The fourth supplementary complaint describes the role of several contractors who generated POC by paying bribes to officials:
- Rajesh Kumar, along with his companies M/s Rajesh Kumar Constructions Pvt. Ltd. and M/s Parmanand Singh Builders Pvt. Ltd., admitted to paying ₹1.88 crore in bribes and gifting two luxury vehicles — a Toyota Innova and a Toyota Fortuner — as illegal gratification.
- Radha Mohan Sahu, another contractor, confessed to paying ₹39 lakh in bribes and gifting another Toyota Fortuner, registered in the name of his son Ankit Sahu.
- All three vehicles, identified as Proceeds of Crime, were seized from Veerendra Kumar Ram’s possession.
Cash Seizures and Aides’ Roles
The complaint also names several aides and conduits who helped handle the illegal money:
- A search at the home of Atikul Rahman alias Atikul Rahman Ansari, an aide to Veerendra Kumar Ram, resulted in the seizure of ₹4.40 lakh in cash.
- Another search at the residence of contractor Rajiv Kumar Singh, who acted as a conduit for officials, led to the recovery of ₹2.13 crore in unexplained cash.
- Rajiv Kumar Singh also admitted to collecting and handling nearly ₹15 crore in commission money for the network.
- Reeta Lal, wife of co-accused Sanjeev Kumar Lal (then PS to the Minister), has been charged with buying properties using laundered money and projecting the tainted funds as legitimate income.
Assets Worth ₹44 Crore Attached
So far, the ED has identified and provisionally attached assets worth over ₹44 crore as part of the investigation. The agency has requested the Special PMLA Court to prosecute all accused persons named in this complaint and to confiscate all assets identified as Proceeds of Crime. The investigation is still ongoing.
, Ranchi Zonal Office, has filed its fourth supplementary prosecution complaint on October 22, 2025, before the Special PMLA Court, Ranchi.){kind=link}