ED seizes Rs 11.64 crores cash from seven senior Bihar government officials in money laundering case

New Delhi, March 29

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has seized Rs 11.64 crore in cash from the premises of seven senior Bihar government officials in Patna during raids in the ongoing investigation into money laundering and corruption allegations involving IAS officer Sanjeev Hans.

The ED stated that the searches were done in connection with evidence of bribery related to securing favourable decisions in government tenders and expediting payments for contractors, including a Patna-based contractor identified as Rishu Shree 

The ED searched properties linked to Tarini Das, chief engineer at the Bihar Construction Department; Mumukshu Chaudhary, joint secretary in the Finance Department; Umesh Kumar Singh, executive engineer in the Urban Development and Housing Department; Ayaz Ahmed, deputy project director at Bihar Urban Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd; Sagar Jaiswal, deputy general manager of projects at Bihar Medical Services and Infrastructure Corporation Ltd; Vikash Jha, another deputy general manager at the same corporation; and Saket Kumar, executive engineer with the Bihar Construction Department.

The officials said that IAS officer Hans and his network allegedly abused their authority to accumulate illegal wealth between 2018 and 2023, during his influential postings in the Bihar government. The case against Hans first surfaced in January 2023, when a lawyer accused him and former Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MLA Gulab Yadav of gangrape, coercion, blackmail, and forcing her to terminate a pregnancy. 

Although the Patna High Court dismissed the related FIR in September 2023, the accusation sparked scrutiny of financial dealings between Hans and Yadav, ED added.