Rahul Purwar, the ex-husband of Pooja Singhal, is a 1999 batch (Jharkhand cadre) IAS officer
Law Kumar Mishra
Ranchi, May 8
The 2000 batch Jharkhand cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Pooja Singhal, who is under the scanner of Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with disproportionate assets and MNREGA scam, still owns many properties in which her estranged husband is a partner.
Her ex-husband Rahul Purwar is a 1999 batch (Jharkhand cadre) IAS officer. Even though the couple got divorced after a domestic dispute about 12 years ago, he is still a partner in many of Pooja Singhal’s properties. Rahul Purwar will also come under the lens of ED investigation as the agency has found many relevant documents. They own a house in Kolkata that has been valued at Rs 30 lakh. Interestingly, they are getting monthly rent of Rs 50,000 from the small property.
Even Purwar’s tenure has also been full of controversies. He was accused of withholding payment of Rs 42 crore to Tata Projects because he wanted 2.5 per cent commission in return. When the department investigated the allegations, it was found that Rahul Purwar had withheld the file related to payment. Chief Minister Hemant Soren, who was then the Leader of Opposition in the Jharkhand Assembly, had himself exposed the matter.
It has also been alleged that he had given work to contract companies at a higher rate during his tenure. By keeping the rules at bay, the contract companies benefited in the tender. The comptroller and auditor general of accounts had also pointed fingers at many of his works.
Meanwhile, IAS Pooja Singhal’s CA Suman Kumar was arrested by the ED last evening. The ED raids on the premises of people associated with Pooja Singhal have been going on since Friday. He has been taken on a five-day remand for further questioning.
Pooja Singhal has not given any details of the purchase of Pulse Hospital land owned by her second husband Abhishek Jha and the expenditure incurred on its purchase in the information of immovable property given to the Personnel Department of the Central Government in the year 2022. There is also talk of huge financial irregularities in the construction of Pulse Hospital. ED officials have estimated the expenditure incurred in the construction of Pulse Hospital and purchase of equipment according to the year 2020.
According to sources, the minimum expenditure for hospital construction and equipment purchase is estimated to be around Rs 110 crore. At the same time, the loan for the construction of this hospital is only Rs 23 crore. In such a situation, now the ED is investigating where the remaining amount came from and who invested the money.
In Chatra district, enquiry was instituted against Pooja Singhal following complaint of serious irregularities in the execution of MNREGA scheme. However, Additional Chief Secretary A P Singh, who investigated the matter, gave her a clean chit. The development had come as a surprise in the power corridors. Even the Vidhan Sabha committee also probed the matter and inspected the site. It found that two NGOs for the execution of MNREGA works were paid crores of rupees in advance by the then Deputy Commissioner, Pooja Singhal.
When the team visited the spot, there was no sign of work.
