Jharkhand cash seizure: PM Modi says 'taking legal advice on returning looted corruption money to people'; attacks Congress | India News - Times of India

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NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said he was taking legal advice on how to return the money of poor people 'looted' in corruption as he cited the "mounds of cash" seized during

ED raids in Jharkhand

at the premises of a domestic help allegedly linked to the secretary of

Congress

minister

Alamgir Alam

. The probe agency has claimed to have recovered an estimated Rs 20-30 crore "unaccounted" cash during searches.

Referring to the seizure, Modi wondered why such persons were "close to the Congress's first family" and sought answers from

Rahul Gandhi

.

"Why is that those, from whom mounds of cash are recovered, are close to the Congress's first family? Was the seized cash meant for supply somewhere, is it that Congress's first family has created warehouses of black money? The country wants to know from Congress shehzada," the PM said at an election rally in an apparent jibe at Rahul Gandhi.

"They have made the worker's house a godown of corruption. This is not the first time as a bigger seizure was made from an MP (in Jharkhand) earlier also and it was such a big cache that even machines were tired of counting,"

PM Modi

said.

The Prime Minister alleged that the Congress and INDI alliance people 'abuse' him whenever he 'catches' their black money. However, he was worried not about the abuses, but the poor, "whose money these corrupt have looted."

Prime Minister Modi said he is taking legal advice on returning the looted corruption money.

"So far, the ED alone has attached property worth Rs 1.25 lakh crore and "if others" (central agencies) are included it may be more. I am taking legal advice on how the money can be returned to those from whom it has been looted," the PM said.

'Don't jump to conclusions'

Jharkhand rural development minister Alamgir Alam urged patience and restraint in jumping to conclusions.

"Sanjiv Lal is a government employee. He is my personal secretary. Sanjiv Lal has already been personal secretary of two former ministers. There are several government employees and we usually appoint personal secretary based on experience. It is not right to comment on the raids before the ED investigation is completed," Alam said.

ED searches linked to money laundering case

The ED searches were linked to a money laundering case against the former chief engineer of the rural works department, Veerendra Kumar Ram, who was arrested last year.

"Veerendra Kumar Ram, posted as chief engineer in the Rural Works Department in Ranchi, had generated proceeds of crime in the name of commission from contractors in lieu of allotment of tenders to them," the agency had alleged in a statement issued last year in April after it attached assets worth Rs 39 crore of the officer.

"The proceeds of crime thus generated were used by Veerendra Kumar Ram and his family members to live a very lavish lifestyle," it said.

(With inputs from agencies)