R Krishna Das
If the bureaucrats believe switching sides with change of guard in political dispensation can disguise their shady deal, hang on!
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) crack down on a senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer in neighbouring Jharkhand reveals the reality. Pooja Singhal, an IAS officer of 2000 batch, has been arrested on the charges of money laundering and corruption. Now, she has been left all alone; no savoir!
The officer, who qualified the prestigious Civil Services exam at the age of 21 and became the role model of youths, walked into the Hotwar Central jail in Ranch yesterday. Interestingly, the deadly gangster of Wasseypur Fahim Khan (Faizal in the movie) also returned to Hotwar jail hours before his two days parole ended.
Unaware of the irregularities committed by the officer, youths once felt pride to pose for a selfie with her. The camera flashed yesterday too; but to catch an accused on camera. The vehicle carrying Pooja stopped at a signal. Within seconds, she was surrounded by youths, especially girls, clicking her picture. The story has literally changed.
Interestingly, Pooja Singhal enjoyed the backing of not only political power but also Constitutional head. The state was under President’s role when she was posted as Deputy Commissioner (DC) of Khunti, where she has been accused of patronizing scams in the MGNREGA project. She was posted as Khunti DC on February 16, 2009 when K Sankaranarayanan, a senior Congress leader was Governor of the state.
She continued in the post even after Shibhu Soren became the Chief Minister in December 2009. His term ended after 153 days while Pooja continued July 19, 2010.
When Raghubar Das became the Chief Minister, Pooja was his Officer on Special Duty (OSD) for almost three years. During the period, an Additional Chief Secretary-ranked officer probed her involvement in Khunti and gave a clean chit. Raghubar Das claimed that there was no evidence against her.
After Hemant Soren became the Chief Minister in 2019, Pooja remained low-profile and returned to the helm of affairs in August 2021 by taking charge as state’s mines secretary.
No matter which party was in power, Pooja’s sway continued. Many political commentators in Ranchi termed it as the IAS officer’s tactic to tackle the government to cover up its misdeed. The action on Pooja has been an eye-opener for bureaucrats in other states, they said, adding that Raghubar Das is now demanding CBI probe against the officer while Chief Minister Hemant Soren is looking the other way.
Literally, for a couple of bureaucrats especially in Chhattisgarh, Pooja Singhal’s story is a bombshell. A couple of female IAS officers in the state are under the lens. For, their modus operandi in administration is similar to Singhal.
In the previous BJP regime, they enjoyed prime postings in the mineral rich districts. Now in the Congress government, they are still holding the offices that are labelled as most corrupt in public domain.
The balance of power has made them come under the scanner of different agencies; the Jharkhand episode is an alarm bell.
