The suspended IAS officer Puja Singhal, who is in Birsa Munda Central jail in Ranchi, had allegedly kept two permanent account number(PAN) cards.

Records show that Singhal who was posted as Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Khunti between February 16, 2009 and July 19, 2010,used huge sums of money- “ proceeds of crime”-to build super speciality hospital Pulse in Ranchi.This hospital was owned by her husband Abhishek Jha.

On May 6, 2022, ED had conducted searches at several properties linked to Singhal, Jha, and their charted accountant Kumar and claimed that it had recovered Rs 19.76 crore in cash. Singhal and Kumar were subsequently arrested. They are currently in judicial custody. Jha has filed an anticipatory bail petition in court.

The ED has told the court that Singhal got 5 per cent “illegal commission” in development projects in Khunti from funds she disbursed in MGNREGA work.

Between 2009 and 2011, she in connivance with officials in Khunti is alleged to have embezzled Rs 18.06 crore from the state exchequer under the MNREGA project and deposited Rs 61.5 lakh from “proceeds of crime (POC) generated from Khunti” in her own bank account “over and above her known sources of income”.