Jharkhand money laundering case: ED files fifth supplementary Prosecution Complaint involving former Minister Alamgir Alam

The Enforcement Directorate (ED), Ranchi Regional Office, filed a fifth supplementary Prosecution Complaint under sections 44 and 45 of PMLA 2002 before the Special Court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) Cases, Ranchi, on Tuesday, March 17, 2026.

According to the official press release, the complaint names 14 department engineers and officials from Rural Works Department (RWD), Rural Development Special Zone (RDSZ) and Jharkhand State Rural Road Development Authority (JSRRDA), Government of Jharkhand, as new accused (Accused Nos. 23-36), taking the total number of accused in all Prosecution Complaints in this case to 36.

It was further stated that the case arises from FIR No. 13/2019 registered by the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB), Jamshedpur under Section 7(a) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, 2018.

ED investigation found that a systematic kickback/bribery racket was operating within RWD/RDSZ/JSRRDA, whereby a fixed commission of 3% of the total tender value was collected from contractors in lieu of tender allocations.

According to ED, the commission was distributed hierarchically: 1.35% to the then Minister Alamgir Alam (through his Personal Secretary Sanjeev Kumar Lal); 0.65–1% to the Department Secretary; and the balance lies with the Chief Engineers and their junior engineers.

Against total tender allocations of approximately 3,048 Crore, the total Proceeds of Crime (PoC) exceeds 90 Crore.

ED stated that the 14 newly accused include Chief Engineers (retired) 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 (retired); and Assistant Engineers Ram Pukar Ram and Ramesh Ojha (both retired) as well as former Superintendent Engineer/Chief Engineer Umesh Kumar (retired).

The investigation revealed their active involvement in the collection, collection and delivery of illegal kickback amounts constituting Proceeds of Crime under Section 2(1)(u) of the PMLA.

ED alleged that the federal agency has so far carried out 52 searches under Section 17 of the PMLA in Jharkhand, Delhi and Bihar; arrested nine people (former Minister Alamgir Alam, Personal Secretary Sanjeev Kumar Lal and his associate Jahangir Alam remain in judicial custody).

It has also issued three Provisional Attachment Orders (PAOs) involving properties worth approximately ₹44 Crore (all approved by the Adjudicating Authority); and cash of around ₹38 Crore (including ₹32.20 Crore from premises linked to Sanjeev Kumar Lal and ₹2.93 Crore from Munna Singh) were seized along with 8 luxury vehicles.

Earlier in this case, ED presented a main computer and four additional computers to the Court and information about them was obtained.